volunteer work

[sine nomine]

one great way of coping and learning how to be around people again is to do volunteer work. i've done a variety of volunteer jobs -- crisis line work. petting cats at the animal shelter, sorting mail at the homeless shelter i stayed in. i don't have time for it anymore, but i miss it sometimes.

have you done volunteer work? what sort, and how was it? would you recommend it to other people? if you stopped, why?

btw, if you're looking for a place to do volunteer work, http://volunteermatch.org/ will let you search for volunteer jobs doing things you like to do near where you live. it's pretty cool. like, i put in my zip code, chose a five-mile radius, and said animals and it came up with a bunch of stuff, including volunteering to do animal care at the pacific science center. check it out.

deb

[DrowsyHue]

I love doing volunteer work, but I don't have as much time and energy as I wish I did. It sounds like a cop out, but it's not. I barely have enough energy to work a three hours a day (I don't know what I'm going to do when I start school.) But I have definitely enjoyed volunteering.

Side note: I was at the zoo the other day and they had all these kids working/volunteering (they were leading ponies and clean cages and stuff)

[serenity]

Yes, i used to do volunteer work quite often. I volunteered at a kids camp, and at another i taught younger kids how to play softball(something i've been playing..well played since i was a tiny tot) I've answered phones for a charity line, cleaned streets. I also turned this really crappy lot into a huge playground. I think i liked the kids camps the best. I'm not sure why i stopped, i guess i just didnt have any energy. I know its a bad excuse but i guess i had to take care of me before them. I would recommend doing volunteer work, its a great feeling when you come home and know that you did something good without any strings. At least thats the feeling i got.

-S

[eunomia]

i volunteer for victim support and i get a lot out of it. people who've been victims of crime often really appreciate the chance to talk to someone about what's happened and when i hear what some people have been through it helps to put stuff in my own life into perspective.

it can be hard to fit in because i work full time as well, but it's worth it.

in the UK, Timebank is really good at setting you up with volunteering agencies in your local area and finding something appropriate for what you want to do and how much time you have to spare www.timebank.co.uk

[herebedragons]

I was a voluntary aide at a Girl Scout day camp for a few years, that was a blast. Got to take the kids hiking and creek stomping and teach them knots and how to build a fire safety and archery and whatnot. Great fun, the kids were great.

Political cavassing- well I wouldn't recomend it if you have issues with social anxiety. I much prefered stuffing enevelopes which was great because we could sit there and gossip and still feel like we were helping. Also it involved 100% less knocking on strangers doors than the canvasing.

Back stage work with community theatre- SO much fun. Can't recomend it enough. A great place to meet people, it's fun to build sets, you get to see shows for free (over and over and over again) no downside really (except getting "Hello Dolly" stuck in your head for weeks at a time)

Church nursery work/ sunday school teaching. If you are into church and like kids this can be a great way to volunteer. Obviously wouldn't work otherwise.

Community Garbage pickups- these are great if you can't commit to a long project as the pick ups themselves usually only last for part of one day.

Volunteering at schools- this is primarily an option for parents of children in the school If you have kiddos this is of course a good option. Sometimes they do have high school students in to read to the kids or what have you.

[metzli]

I used to volunteer for a local animal shelter. It was really great. I called and said I needed to take a break for finals, and then I started having really bad troubles with my mental illness, and then I ended up in the hospital, got dumped, lost my job, and was forced to move. So I haven't gotten back to it yet. Things are getting better though, so I think it would really help me to get back into that. I probably will as soon as my mom recovers from her recent surgery. (I'm going to be spending a lot of my free time helping her.)

metzli

[help_me_understand]

Up until I moved house two weeks ago, I was reading once a month for Talking Newspapers for the Blind. Good fun, you work in a team of about four readers and a technician, and the editor simply gives you a pile of newspaper cuttings. Then you take turns reading round the table. It suited me down to the ground because my background is theatre so I'm quite happy with my speaking voice, plus it was only once a month so not a huge commitment. And the other people were really nice - I shall miss them! Hoping to do something similar round here.

[Laura]

I put "yes, but not any more", although I hope to restart something once I move house.

While at school I did Red Cross, at my first uni I helped out in local secondary schools, more recently it's been church stuff, like helping with kids activities or visiting elderly people. I basically stopped because one by one my elderly friends died, and I felt that it wouldn't be right to start to build more friendships when I was likely to be moving to the other end of the country soon.

I do think that voluntary work is enormously beneficial to me. It makes me feel useful and as if I'd done something worthwhile. I don't feel as if I'd done anything amazing - mostly just turned up and was myself! But I received gratitude and that sometimes helped me when I was going through bad times.

Useful website for finding voluntary work: http://www.do-it.org.uk
Also try your student's union if you are at uni, or your personnel department if working - they often keep details of volunteering opportunities.

Laura

[purpleflame]

one great way of coping and learning how to be around people again is to do volunteer work.

very true.
I've done volunteer work for a few years now
I was an assistant Librarian at my highschool for over 2 years. this helped me deal with being approached for help by people. i also made friends through the library
I did a couple of days helping at my old Primary school and had a lovely time listening to 6yr olds read, and they also drew me pictures
I got involved in last years Reading Maze and this years Reading Rollercoaster. this is a scheme for children to get reading over the summer holidays. you give the children stickers and bookmarks and listen to them tell you about their books. you also talk to their parents if they have questions, which has helped my confidence
for over a year I've helped my mum teach adults with learning difficulties. this includes copy-writing, playing educational games, teavhing shop and road signs etc. its really rewarding and makes me feel good about myself when I come away

I would really recommend voluntry work. it builds self-esteem and makes you feel very useful
tc, love Abby xx
_________________
Fidelity bond Forum

[8586]

Have you done volunteer work? Yes, I've done random things such as helping with races (fun runs and such) to volunteering at LACASA.

What sort, and how was it? Different things, but not much, just here and there when I can. For LACASA - I always wanted to work with the people, but was too young really and you had to be trained and I didn't have time to, but I helped with events they had (Christmas house showing, garden tours, etc).

Would you recommend it to other people? LACASA - yes, most definitely. Really, I would recommend any volunteer work. Though, do something you'll enjoy, I do things that I find fun, I don't want it tp be a chore.

If you stopped, why? I haven't 'stopped,' I just haven't done anything in a while. I haven't been to LACASA, because I am no longer friends with the person I always volunteered with.



When I go to college though, I already plan to college their 'safe place' and volunteer there. It's for people in abusive relationships and such. They'll need to train me, and I can then volunteer.

I also plan to work at the counseling center if they can give me a job (which isn't volunteering, but I need to have a job and what better of a place than to help others?). Though if they can't hire me, then I will ask if I can volunteer (but it wouldn't be as much, because I also have to find a job on campus).

So, volunteer!!

[custoza]

during term time at uni I volunteer in the welfare office. I'm not qualified to give advice or anything just to be an ear for people to either vent to or discuss their options with concerning stuff life relationship issues, sex, housing and academic issues etc.

I find it really rewarding, have made loads of friends through it and find myself much more integrated in every day life at uni. It was a really good move for me



custoza

[glass angel]

i've volunteered in charity shops, a mental health safe house, and i've just finished a year at a school for children with cerebral palsy... all very rewarding... but just make sure you're not being exploited, i was at my last job, and that went a long way towards cancelling out any good feeling about it. volunteering can be a huge confidence boost though, it did help me a lot.

[Kaiyoz]

Most of my volunteer work is with kids. I teach kids karate two to four days a week and volunteer at a local school once a week then I tend to also go and help out at a children's emergency daycare. I love the little kids; they don't make me feel stupid or inferior. I'm still a teen so in their eyes I'm just the coolest person and when they just sit and talk to me or have me watch them do something it's great. I also raise/train dogs for service work. And of course donating blood and I cut my hair once a year for locks of love (they take hair and make it into wigs for kids with cancer).

[becs]

I've done loads of volunteer work including helping handicapped kids with horsebackriding, sorted clothes and books at charity shops, sold daffodils for the Marie Curie cancer fund, wrapped Christmas present for kids in Romania, and I'm also flying down to Romania in October to paint some classrooms at an orphanage. I'm sure there's more I've done, but my mind is blank at the moment...

-Becs

[Proximity]

its' excellent, even if all you do is something very very very small.
Durring the summer of my worst depression, right when I came home from college, I was doing nothing with my time.
I ended up volunteering to feed the fish at the library.
So every other day, I would walk to two miles to the library, get the key to the tank and the cabinet, unlock them, get out the fish food, and scoup it into the tank and watch them eat for about five minutes.
I used to make a little game of tricking the big ones so that the little ones could get food.

Also, I liked it because they weren't pretty tropical fish, they were local colorado fish, we had rainbow trout and salmon, and some more that I don't remember.

Sometimes when I was feeling a bit more social, I would look around for kids, and tell them that I was going to feed the fish, and ask if they wanted to help/watch.

It was just, nice and simple, and I had this little responsibility that was all mine.

I didn't really help anyone, one of the library people could have done it in five minutes, but it helped ME.



prox.
[nothing]

[badgirl22]

I volenteer as a foster parent for puppies that need rescuing. I work for this rescue group and I love it. It is a great way to cope. Puppies are soooooooooo addorable but sooooooooooooooooooooo much work. thanks for the post.
-Badgirl22

[nirvana]

yep, and i still do.

- at blood drives - i don't give blood, but i've worked signing people in, helping them fill out forms, etc. easy stuff, but they always need volunteers.
- at my old school - i helped the guidance counsellor at my old school set up the school store there, and labeled things they sell. it's a small school, but they sell school supplies that the little kids love, and it's nice to go back every now and then to visit.
- daycare center - i volunteered at a child development center last spring. it kindof gave me a headache, but it was fun to be around little kids all day. it was cool because the kids grow attached, and if you go often enough, they look forward to your visits, and you become friends with them. i only stopped because i can't drive to get there, and i go to school during the day, so i can mainly work over spring break.
- literacy council - i have been and currently still volunteer at the literacy council in my area. they have them in most states, and it's basically a non-profit thing. people that work there take volunteers (any adults) and train them to become tutors. those tutors are then assigned to students, who are usually foreignors. the tutor and student work together for sometimes a few years, learning english, reading, and writing. i'm not old enough to tutor, but i do all the paperwork for the office, including entering things into the computer. i make phone calls for them, and help organize events.

i would definately reccomend any of the jobs i've volunteered at. i guess it depends what kind of work you'd like to do; hands-on vs. more behind-the-scenes stuff. if you like being active, then daycare centers are a good idea. if you don't have much time but still want to do something helpful, volunteering at a blood drive works. my job at the literacy council is kindof a long-term thing, but it's grown on me a lot, and it's great experience.

also, if you work long enough or put in a lot of hours at a certain location (and keep track of them), many times the coordinator or director will write you a reccomendation or cite you as a reference... that can help with future volunteer work, or paying jobs. i'm actually doing that with the literacy council, because i'm still a little young to work.

i like volunteering a lot. it keeps me busy and occupied, but i can still be productive. also, since there's no real commitment, i don't feel bad dropping the job if i get too busy. plus i like helping people.

ps: i used volunteermatch to get my job at the literacy council. it's perfect for finding a job.

-tara.

[red velvet]

I haven't had the time lately because of my job.

Things I have done in the past...

Deliver Christmas gifts to residents who had just moved out of a homeless shelter (I did that for 3 years)

Answering a Domestic Violence hotline a few times a month (I did that for about a year)

Help paint a house for Habitat for Humanity (did it twice)

I took care of a school rabbit for one summer. They had no one to care for the bunny and a freind knew i loved animals so she asked if i would do it. I brought him home and took care of him for the 3 months.

It helped me to feel good about myself for helping others. Also gave me something to do in my spare time so i wasn't bored. It gave me a sense of responsibility.

I would recommend it to anyone. There are lots of places that would love to have more people to volunteer. Animal shelters, hospitals, homeless shelters, crisis lines, or call up your local United Way and they can direct you to opportunities in your area.

[kurdt_kobain]

I used to volunteer in the hospital and stamp papers for them.

It was really...really...really boring.

[rainy day]

I just to do volunteer work but i dont no more