Do you volunteer for anything?

[bleedingheart]

Do you volunteer for politics, kid's activities, schools, hospitals...etc?

I am involved on may fronts with all kinds of stuff and this fall I am actually going to coach soccer for little kids and am actually getting a coaching certificate to do this. I volunteer for politics and kids activities.

What I have found is that once people volunteer, they are either turned off or they "catch the bug". It is really nice to be involved, and help other people out and contribute something.

What I have also found is that I see a lot of the same volunteers at a lot of different places volunteering for different groups. A friend of mine is a volunteer with at least 5 or 6 groups and that is great but I was talking to her about how it seems like it is always the same people volunteering and she said that it is a great pity that people don't have the time to help out.

So do you volunteer? What have been your experiences? Why do you think so few people get involved? What do you think is important to fostering volunteerism?

[Smudge]

1. Yes

I volunteer a lot at the local community theatre. I was just recently named "youth volunteer of the year" there.

It has made some of the best experiences of my life and I have met some of the best friends ever.

[bleedingheart]

2. that is great!

my best friends are folks I have met volunteering...they are really good people.

[Darth_Kitten]

3. to be the first one lined up at ANY buffet table.........

sorry.....

I'm just crazy.

I should volunteer, but it's hard to get going doing anything. :(

[Sanity Claws]

4. I fostered dogs and cats for local animal shelter.

At first I did dogs. I stopped because the third dog I was given was dangerous. I was told it was part boxer but it was a pit bull. I told animal control of my experiences and they just put her out for adoption. I felt taken advantage of and ignored.
After that, I adopted two cats and fostered some cats for the shelter. I stopped because my own cats were upset at others coming into their territory.
I'm now trying to do some volunteer work for Mercy Corps.

[Rabrrrrrr]

5. I'm a volunteer to help unwed mothers get their start.

:P

[lost-in-nj]

6. Yes

I used to volunteer for our local PAL while my son was in it
Now I am on the Ladies Auxiliary of our local volunteer fire department.
We try to raise money for them, donate to community things and local families that are having hard times.
We adopt families at Thanksgiving and Christmas also

We also bring water and food to working fires for the firemen.
Thank goodness since I have joined we have only had one really big fire that we were needed at


BTW
Don't forget to Thank a volunteer!!!

:hi: :toast:

lost

[Left Is Write]

7. Yes.

I volunteer in the preschool and the first grade classroom (I did the same last year with preschool and kindergarten). I volunteer with the PTA. I teach Sunday School and do various other volunteer activities at church.

I agree with you about the same groups of people volunteering most of the time. I think part of it has to do with availability; those who have the time to volunteer are more likely to show up pretty often. Some people simply do not have the free time to do so. Making opportunities for volunteerism that work with a variety of schedules could help. Some people may feel intimidated jumping into any volunteer activity as a newbie among seasoned folks who already know each other, and making sure to let everyone know they are welcome might go a ways toward easing that issue.

It's notoriously difficult to get enough Sunday school teachers for the groups of children we have at church. Oftentimes, the volunteers don't even have children in the program! With the number of kids registered, it shouldn't be so difficult to find the number of teachers we need, but each year we begin the program short-handed.

[bleedingheart]

9. our local church had the parents doing the CCD lessons at home

because no one would volunteer to teach them at the church...

I agree, scheduling can be a big problem.

[Lisa0825]

16. Very good point...

"Some people may feel intimidated jumping into any volunteer activity as a newbie among seasoned folks who already know each other..." AND know the ropes too!

When I first started volunteering at the animal sanctuary, the open house hours were SO HECTIC, and I'd had no training or orientation, so I felt clueless and like there was nothing I could do but be in the way. Plus, they had a core group there that are very tight-knit. I might not have gone back, except for the fact that the director made sure to give me some easy jobs like giving people a tour of the "Kitty Kastle." I mean, all I had to do was let them in and supervise while they ooohed and ahhhed over all the sweet kitties. But it did help because without me there, no one else would have had time to show them, and THAT is where we get adoptions and donations! After the doors closed for the day, even though I still felt like I knew nothing, and didn't hit it off with everyone, the director really emphasized how thankful she was that I was there, and made me feel good about what little contribution I had made.

[Maddy McCall]

8. Several organizations--political, educational, civic...

But my most proud volunteerism is with my town's fire department, where I'm a first responder.

[Redstone]

10. Not as such, but I do devote 20% of my working time to doing free

work for charities and nonprofits.

Hard for me to volunteer in the traditional sense because of physical limitations and scheduling conflicts (I never know if I'll be able to be at a given place at a given time).

But I figure that 8 hours a week of nominally $150 per hour time is enough to give.

Redstone

[Lisa0825]

11. I volunteer on political campaigns/events and for an animal sanctuary.

I probably put in about 20 hours a week or more, but half of that is at home online.

edited because I didn't answer your questions:

Most of my experiences have been positive. The campaigns and special events I have worked on have always been very grateful and gracious. I have, however, been turned off by a couple of my local candidates once I learned how un-liberal they were. There has also been some back room drama I could do without as well. But then, I think all groups have that.... workplace drama, family drama, club drama, etc.

I LOVE volunteering at the animal sanctuary. I love knowing someone got adopted because I put his/her picture on the webpage, or someone donated because of an article I wrote, or 4 kittens didn't go to the pound because I was able to foster them when the facility was full. And I love fostering, though it's really hard to let them go.

I think not enough people get involved because people are just too busy with their own lives for the most part. People work hard, have kids, homes, etc to take care of, and don't feel like they can make the time for other important pursuits.

I think the most important thing you can do to foster volunteerism to to make sure everyone hears over and over again how important they are and how appreciated they are. It's a good feeling. Conversely, nothing will cause someone to lose interest faster than feeling like they were NOT appreciated.

[smtpgirl]

12. I was reamed by my sister today,

too much school work, not enough volunteering.

I have decided on teaching people how to read.

I think I will do good at this, personally I think my calling is how to teach people on how to use a PC

[Crazy Dave]

13. I go with my mom and visit people in nursing homes....

...and I'm a CERT volunteer also. Different things come up from time to time where I help out others without signing up or being a member of a certain group.

[Blue_In_AK]

14. Not ordinarily but

I have just recently volunteered for the Diane Benson for Congress campaign because I want Don Young out of the House so bad, plus she is a great candidate. Politics up here this year is crazy ... we've even had the FBI serving search warrants on six state legislators (5 Rs, one D) and VECO, the oilfield service company, within the past week, most likely for vote buying. People are sick of the corruption, and Don is one of the corruptest of the corrupt.

[Broken_Hero]

15. for politics

for fund raisers, and what not...thats about it nowadays. When I was younger I volunteered time at soup kitches, and spent a lot of hours helping my friend jason at the salvation army...