Volunteering

I didn't start this thread to make people feel guilty about not volunteering. If you are feeling guilty after reading some of these posts, maybe it is just your heart speaking to you, encouraging you to find a worthy cause to which you should contribute some time (or money) in the future. That should be a good feeling, one of purpose. ;-)

SJ, my post was not directed at you. I just didn't want other people to feel guilty because of what the rest of us were doing. ;-)

More truthful words have never been spoken. :roll:

Agree.

I enjoy volunteering for school related activities.

We had Odyssey of the Mind (OM) and Destination Imagination (DI) teams for 6 years and I was our school's coordinator for 4 of those years - allowing paperwork, kids, and endless supplies of useful junk to take over our bedroom and garage! To this day, we still haven't gotten one of the cars back in the garage! Now we just act as appraisers at competitions.

Have now switched my volunteering efforts to all the HS Band Booster activities.
Years ago I arranged my job to part time so I could volunteer and do more to help at the schools.

I it!

I so agree with Cheering. I try to volunteer and be of service to others in just everyday life. I've discovered best gift you can give to yourself is the giving of yourself to others with a simple helping hand or a much appreciated smile and hello. Such an indescribable feeling to help those in times of need, but I feel I'm preaching to the choir here.

The one bit of service that affected me the most was the 4 months I spent in Sri Lanka over the past 2 years building homes for tsunami victims. It started out as a month long whim after the initial disaster but went back last year with more friends and money after starting a non-profit to build 7 homes. Our detailed experience is at work-works.org.

That trip took a lot out of me in many aspects but I'm always looking for my next big "project" so I love reading all the local organizations you all are helping. Keep the ideas coming!

To answer SJ question of what keeps you coming back, is that feeling that there is no higher calling than to be of service to your fellow man. Especially to those who don't expect it but need it most.

I don't do a lot of physical labor volunteering because I have some health limitations that prevent that aspect but I DO volunteer with our church, youth groups, raising $$ for missions (local and international). My pt. time job is basically all volunteer with a small salary that I usually end up giving back.

Also, I'm very passionate about keeping the arts alive for the next generation and Mr. JR and I help in any way possible, every weekend. It's unbelievable the amount of volunteer work needed for this effort. It's rewarding and everyone benefits.

Great topic SJ because some may not even recognize their volunteering impact & feel that it dosen't seem like much, but it's more than most will know. Every little bit helps. Many hands make great progress!

I work 40 hours a week and am dead tired after I get home. My husband works 60 hours a week, he is tired after work for sure. I consider the fact that we go visit his mother two weekends a month as sort of volunteering. She has no visitors other than my husband and I and his brother. And my husband goes down there one day during the week extra every time he has a day off just to give her some company and to mow her yard, etc.

I worked 60 hrs a week for a long time and mostly donated money because I didn't have time to give hours. I still volunteered in the Library of my daughter's elementary school. Since I was in sales, I talked a lot and found out it was easy to fund raise. So, I fund raised for a couple of organizations. When we moved here, I stopped working to stay home with my son.

Once here, I think I went on Volunteer Overload. It seemed like many people were complacent about what was available here - in education, parks and recreation, and public services. I volunteered in the schools, substituted, fund raised, worked in the Library, coached Cross Country and went on the Board of Directors at Seaside Neighborhood School. There are so many safety concerns here with the traffic - I am trying to get some additional signs on 30 - a big pet peeve of mine now. The park issue or lack of one, is moving forward with SGB, Organicmoma, Jdarg and Beachmom. I am very excited for this!

My husband is coaching soccer, baseball and helps with the cubscouts. He also taught a mentoring class at Seaside for Photography. But the best volunteering has to go to my daughter. For the past two years, she has given up getting presents for her birthday and instead raised money for Best Friends Animal Society and the LSU Vet School for Katrina animals. When she saw the first videos of the animals in the floods, she said she wanted to help, so we checked into the different charities, and decided on those two. She started a lemonade stand in front of GiGi's (complete with pamphlets and pictures of the animals) and got a couple friends to help her. She raised quite a bit of money! We have taken food for PAWS to Fort Walton - if there was a shelter close by, that's where she would be! On top of all of this I work full time. So, please go easy on me when I'm posting, I'm probably just tired!

I also occasionally do fundraising for St. Jude Children's Hospital here in Memphis.

I worked 60 hrs a week for a long time and mostly donated money because I didn't have time to give hours. I still volunteered in the Library of my daughter's elementary school. Since I was in sales, I talked a lot and found out it was easy to fund raise. So, I fund raised for a couple of organizations. When we moved here, I stopped working to stay home with my son.

Once here, I think I went on Volunteer Overload. It seemed like many people were complacent about what was available here - in education, parks and recreation, and public services. I volunteered in the schools, substituted, fund raised, worked in the Library, coached Cross Country and went on the Board of Directors at Seaside Neighborhood School. There are so many safety concerns here with the traffic - I am trying to get some additional signs on 30 - a big pet peeve of mine now. The park issue or lack of one, is moving forward with SGB, Organicmoma, Jdarg and Beachmom. I am very excited for this!

My husband is coaching soccer, baseball and helps with the cubscouts. He also taught a mentoring class at Seaside for Photography. But the best volunteering has to go to my daughter. For the past two years, she has given up getting presents for her birthday and instead raised money for Best Friends Animal Society and the LSU Vet School for Katrina animals. When she saw the first videos of the animals in the floods, she said she wanted to help, so we checked into the different charities, and decided on those two. She started a lemonade stand in front of GiGi's (complete with pamphlets and pictures of the animals) and got a couple friends to help her. She raised quite a bit of money! We have taken food for PAWS to Fort Walton - if there was a shelter close by, that's where she would be! On top of all of this I work full time. So, please go easy on me when I'm posting, I'm probably just tired!

Both of you are rock stars! You've set a wonderful example not only for your daughter but others too.

I used to volunteer a lot at the kids' elementary school (I was the room parent most years - parties, class trips, etc. - schools depend on parents for these events for the kids), but now I'm taking a break for a while. In addition to regular donations we do every year in December to our favorite charities, I donate 5% percent of the cottage rental proceeds each December to cancer research.

Caring and Sharing in South Walton is looking for volunteers.

Lighthouse Retreat

Members of the newly formed Sowal Coffee Club ( local photographers) are sharing the privilege of making family portraits of the Lighthouse Retreat participants. Micheal Belk did the job all by himself last year! I bet we all learn something about life from these kids who are fighting cancer.

Since 1992 everything I've done that involved Beach to Bay Conection has been volunteer. No pay. No telling how many hours on various projects.
Was talking to a freind of my sister's last week that works in Angola in Africa, not the Prison in Louisiana. Angola has a lot of problems and the Chinese are coming in and solving some of them. Here's why, the Angolains will not do anything unless there is a personal benefit to themselves, the Chinese will work together for the good of the community.

I've worked as a room mother for eldest daughter's class for the first 1/2 of the year, before taking her out of that school. It was an eye opening experience at how many parents don't get involved in their children's education. We donate money as we see fit to various organizations & helped with a local Thanksgiving dinner at a church in Freeport our first Thanksgiving here. I just saw last week about Caring & Sharing needing volunteers, so ironically it was on my list to call on Monday, even before I saw this thread. A new group started about 2 months ago by one of the coolest members of our community called Heartworks Kids. It's dedicated to getting the children of our community involved in charity work and we've been a part of that, including being able to work with the Lighthouse Retreat this week, which was fun in itself & because we got to see old friends from ATL.

As the kids get older & I am able to branch out more sans the munchkins, I look forward to getting more involved in the community.

Great and inspiring thread Smiling Joe! My husband and I give $$ to various charities each month, but I'm looking forward to giving more time too once we're relocated to the SoWal area. Encouraging stories everyone!! I couldn't agree more with all that's been said!

I've worked as a room mother for eldest daughter's class for the first 1/2 of the year, before taking her out of that school. It was an eye opening experience at how many parents don't get involved in their children's education. We donate money as we see fit to various organizations & helped with a local Thanksgiving dinner at a church in Freeport our first Thanksgiving here. I just saw last week about Caring & Sharing needing volunteers, so ironically it was on my list to call on Monday, even before I saw this thread. A new group started about 2 months ago by one of the coolest members of our community called Heartworks Kids. It's dedicated to getting the children of our community involved in charity work and we've been a part of that, including being able to work with the Lighthouse Retreat this week, which was fun in itself & because we got to see old friends from ATL.

As the kids get older & I am able to branch out more sans the munchkins, I look forward to getting more involved in the community.

Please tell me more about the Heartworks Kids!

Kudos to getting the kids involved at an early age!

When I lived in St. Cloud, I volunteered for the March of Dimes for a couple years. We put together a haunted library for halloween and raised piles of money for them as that was a college town. Oh, the stories of fun we had scaring those big college boys trying to impress their G-friends. :funn:
Built a church and a half and sand-bagged until my arms fell off for a couple flood years back in MN.

Nothing beats the feeling of pouring everything you got into something for absolutley no reason than you wanted to or felt you needed to for nothing in return.

If I was financially able, this would be all I do.

I go with a local pet therapy group called PAWS (pets are working saints), we go to Delta Health Care and Crystal Bay assisted living the second Monday of each month with our dogs. We are on a summer break right now, but I've been doing it for about 5 years and I cannot begin to tell you how rewarding it is to see the elders eyes light up and listen to them tell their stories about when they had a dog. Funny... sometimes I hear the same story each month, but love it just the same. It's as rewarding for me as it is for them. Such a simple thing too.

I go with a local pet therapy group called PAWS (pets are working saints), we go to Delta Health Care and Crystal Bay assisted living the second Monday of each month with our dogs. We are on a summer break right now, but I've been doing it for about 5 years and I cannot begin to tell you how rewarding it is to see the elders eyes light up and listen to them tell their stories about when they had a dog. Funny... sometimes I hear the same story each month, but love it just the same. It's as rewarding for me as it is for them. Such a simple thing too.

PAWS comes to the NH where I work!! Love them! The residents do too!

Way to jump in, floridiandreams!

Member of the Board of Directors of our daughter's private school.
Official driver for the girls' varsity basketball team at daughter's school (they didn't have a bus).
Development (fundraising) chair for our daughter's schools' annual auction.
Chaired and co-chaired two-week-long summer art camps for middle schoolers.
Development (fundraising) chair for junior league charity ball and auction to benefit children's causes.
Cookbook committee member for junior league.
Preparing meals for a battered women's shelter.
Altar Guild member at church (responsible for making the church look neat, distributing Sunday flowers to nursing homes and ill people, etc.).
Needlepointed two altar cushions for our church sanctuary (one took a year to do because it was so large).
Member of the church orchestra (violinist).
Symphony guild volunteer (selling tickets, etc.).
Playing gigs at art museum openings, symphony fundraisers, etc.

Just this past Friday I played in a quartet at two daycare centers for underprivileged children to expose them to the arts We explained to them about the instruments, taught them a bit about music, etc. They were so cute -- they hugged us as we were leaving. Our quartet plans to become part of an "Arts in Schools" program to supplement music education in our county because funding for the arts has been drastically cut. They offered to pay us, but we are going to donate the money to buy instruments and sheet music for the kids.

Member of the Board of Directors of our daughter's private school.
Official driver for the girls' varsity basketball team at daughter's school (they didn't have a bus).
Development (fundraising) chair for our daughter's schools' annual auction.
Chaired and co-chaired two-week-long summer art camps for middle schoolers.
Development (fundraising) chair for junior league charity ball and auction to benefit children's causes.
Cookbook committee member for junior league.
Preparing meals for a battered women's shelter.
Altar Guild member at church (responsible for making the church look neat, distributing Sunday flowers to nursing homes and ill people, etc.).
Needlepointed two altar cushions for our church sanctuary (one took a year to do because it was so large).
Member of the church orchestra (violinist).
Symphony guild volunteer (selling tickets, etc.).
Playing gigs at art museum openings, symphony fundraisers, etc.

Just this past Friday I played in a quartet at two daycare centers for underprivileged children to expose them to the arts We explained to them about the instruments, taught them a bit about music, etc. They were so cute -- they hugged us as we were leaving. Our quartet plans to become part of an "Arts in Schools" program to supplement music education in our county because funding for the arts has been drastically cut. They offered to pay us, but we are going to donate the money to buy instruments and sheet music for the kids.

Dang, BR. Are you tired?

We are always in need of volunteers at Alaqua Animal Refuge. We are the only shelter in Walton County and we are a no-kill facility. We need all types of volunteers - hands on, off-site adoptions, administrative - you name it! It is a tranquil place to spend your volunteer time.

It is a tranquil place to spend your volunteer time.

It is absolutely a refuge for both people and animals! I will be spending part of my day off trying to do my part.

For his birthday, since it is so close to Christmas, my brother asks for dog chew toys and dog food instead of toys and he donates it to Three Dog Framing by 98 BBQ