Volunteering. What were/are your experiences?

[monkey00]

Anyway this just hit me now. i've always been striving for personal growth, and im actually interested in it now for some reason...i've visited sites such as nycares.org which has a variety of places to volunteer at. The thought of anything remotely being unpaid would immediately be rejected back a yr or more.

 

The reason? I see it as an excellent opportunity for more personal growth, as well as improve my socializing abilities/skills, in addition to expanding my social circle.

 

Anyway, this semester im a full time student and work part-time. Aside from this i only have saturday evenings and sundays free.

 

For those of you that's volunteered, tell me what you did, your experiences and what you got out of it. Any recommendations would be great also

[Ohio Chops]

People I know who have tried to help those that won't help themself, get Sh*t on all the time.

[Gold Pile]

The Pile clan has a few charitable black sheep. I'm not one of them, but this is what I've observed.

 

Hardcore poor people feel getting charity is their right, an obligation for the rest of us. You'll get zip emotional return there.

 

Many needy are needy b/c of their character defects. You'll be helping in vain, they will stay poor, you can't help them.

 

Real disabled people (not the fakers) are a different story, is the only place my charity goes. I don't get much emotional reward, but I do contribute.

 

The only "rush" I've ever felt is helping out decent-folk strangers in minor trouble. A neatly dressed women in a decent car with the flat tire, The well mannered teenager who was red face stunned at the dinner bill on his (1st?) date was relieved when observant Gold Pile payed his bill. I pretended it was a jesture of celebration of my birthday.

 

As a side note: my date that evening was not so taken with me, but My charatable jesture won her over......score! we dated 6 months more.

[lindya]

The well mannered teenager who was red face stunned at the dinner bill on his (1st?) date was relieved when observant Gold Pile payed his bill. I pretended it was a jesture of celebration of my birthday.

 

 

That's rather sweet, GP.

 

My CV of altruism includes giving out freebie advice - partly through choice, partly through our receptionist putting through calls from random people who want to get advice without paying for it. Also, I've done time on various telephone helplines. When things were quiet, I'd pass the time in jolly banter with 12 year old boys who'd call up to say things like "I've got a picture of you with no clothes on" "Can you help me with my homework?" and "You're a slut! Hahaha (click)".

 

Helping callers who wanted talk through their problems was fulfilling in a sense. Especially if someone was clearly in crisis and sounded much calmer by the end of the call.

[quankanne]

helping my friend whenever she needed help with the gleaning projects she's coordinated for the Society of St. Andrew; tutoring for the local literacy council; being a sponsor for the RCIA program at church; taking pictures for Sister of the new converts in the RCIA program at church … my one sister is a whiz at managing projects, so when her kids were in a Catholic elementary school, she took over the PTO carnival and whipped that puppy into shape by bringing in new sponsors and ideas.

 

sometimes getting into a volunteer project that is long-term has been more of a problem than not because of my job, but the ones like the picture-taking or gleaning were pretty cool, because I could do them whenever I was available. The pay-off for volunteering? meeting people, developing good networking contacts, the good feeling you get inside by being able to make a difference by doing that one little thing.

 

my suggestion is to match your desire to volunteer with something you normally enjoy doing. I love to read, and I hate the idea that someone walks away from a good read not because they have no interest, but because they cannot read, hence my decision to tutor with the literacy council. Unfortunately I encountered some conflicts with work, so it's been hard to stick with the strict schedule that the person being helped needs, so I don't do it anymore. So, the other suggestion is to make sure that whatever it is that interests you is something that can be worked into a schedule, be it a regular thing or a sometime thing.

 

being able to offer a part of yourself to someone truly in need far outweighs the need to be paid to do it.

[sundrop]

A friend of mine volunteers for Crisis Assistance here, where I live. It is where people who need clothing or money to pay a bill, like water or power can go, they also help low incme people set up a buget and have credit counseling, help people find jobs, etc..... She does it one night a week after work and she just gets a thrill with helping people, knowing she is helping our community.

 

I volunteer at a community recreation center in a low income community. I started doing it with a freidn and she has since quit and I like it so much and got to know the people that its like second nature going. I go after work some nights and help them set up volleyball nets or whatever needs to be done. I also help with cheerleading practice, help come up with ideas so they can raise money for cheerleading uniforms etc.... During the summer I take a weeks vacation and help with summer day camp.... If needed I help tutor and study with some of the kids who come up there. Some of them are so starved for adult attention, its not even funny...... i have gotten attached to them, they are like my children or brothers or sisters I don't have. I just enjoy doing it and maybe one day I will learn that I kept someone off the streets and out of harms way and gave the a good rolemodel to look up to..

[Pyro]

For those of you that's volunteered, tell me what you did, your experiences and what you got out of it. Any recommendations would be great also

 

I have worked in a soup kitchen and I worked in a warehouse that boxes up non-refrigerated food and are sent to the less fortunate. I like to feel as though I made a difference in some people's lives, even if they are minor changes, I am still proud of myself.

 

I also volunteered for a MLB all-star game fanfest. It was great. It's my favorite sport and it was nice to be a part of it.

[sundrop]

 

I also volunteered for a MLB all-star game fanfest. It was great. It's my favorite sport and it was nice to be a part of it.

 

 

How cool is that. FUN....

[Gold Pile]

That's rather sweet, GP.

 

Aw, shucks , Don't tell anyone.

[Pyro]

 

I also volunteered for a MLB all-star game fanfest. It was great. It's my favorite sport and it was nice to be a part of it.

 

 

How cool is that. FUN....

 

It was definitely fun. I got to interact with kids and adults. The worst part was that I could not contain myself. I spent over $400 in baseball souvenirs.