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Thread: How much do you volunteer? Where?

  1. #11
    TxZen
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    2 hours a week in my son's classroom and I have some home stuff I do for his school- cutting box tops, assembling projects for them, which takes maybe another hour or so a week.

    2016 is my year of no, and not from a bad perspective but just setting boundaries for myself. I tend to get in over my head and it tires me out.

  2. #12
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    I tutor.

  3. #13
    Senior Member ctg492's Avatar
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    I have tried a few groups and organizations. For myself I have found helping my loved ones and neighbors, donating to groups that mean something to me, works for me.

    The worst volunteer day I had was three years ago. I had bike ridden past a Fen Preserve for a few years. I would see the signs but really did not know. One sunny day I saw a lady in the ditch collecting seeds. I stopped and spoke to her. She gave me info about the Fen and volunteer days. Oh I thought this was my calling! Signed up and saturday came. I rode my bike the 10 miles with my bag lunch. The rain started as we got in assorted Jeeps to go cut down invasive plants. I was trapped in the middle of many acres in the rain with a group that had deep feelings for the FEN. The rain and 8 hours wore on and I wanted to get on the Jeep and bike home. At lunch break the small group of regulars talked about how people volunteer to put a Check in the Box and make themselves feel good. I thought Wow that is weird. I wondered WHY if this was so important, WHY did not the entire area know about this? Why was the goal not to give Knowledge to everyone about the invasive plants and such? What good did it do to work on this acres not give the knowledge to everyone. I left thinking these were Do Gooders to make themselves feel above everyone else, an elite group. I tossed my tick, thistle, wet clothes in the trash as I went in the house that day.

  4. #14
    Senior Member rosarugosa's Avatar
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    Not much, I'm afraid, given my current work and commuting schedule. I try to donate some $$ to causes that are important to me, and I do the occasional one-day gig like Clean up the Woods for Earth Day. Sometimes I'll take a plastic grocery bag on my walk to the woods and clean up a bit of trash. I have two volunteer gigs in mind for retirement: helping to maintain the Rose Garden in Lynn Woods, and volunteering with Melrose Humane Society (cat rescue). It does worry me when I read that those who don't volunteer pre-retirement tend not to volunteer post-retirement.

  5. #15
    Senior Member razz's Avatar
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    I can relate to the emotional saturation aspect. I find that I need strong boundaries in my volunteering to make it sustainable. I probably need to consider the introvert vs extrovert and stressful life parts of volunteering to understand my need for boundaries.

  6. #16
    Senior Member catherine's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by iris lilies View Post
    It is a freaking wonder that anyone can read my posts, made with the stupid IPAD, handy but supportive of error.
    I'm replying to this quote because the first quote was a little long to "rely to" but I really enjoyed reading it. If they say that community involvement and social capital keep you alive, IL, you'll live to 120!
    "Do any human beings ever realize life while they live it--every, every minute?" Emily Webb, Our Town
    www.silententry.wordpress.com

  7. #17
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    It does worry me when I read that those who don't volunteer pre-retirement tend not to volunteer post-retirement. Rosa, I did not do much volunteering during my years of teaching, but now that I am retired I do some. I do an hour or so at the food pantry just down the street and a half day at the school. I don't want to volunteer far away- more than a 5 minute drive- or for long hours. But I am enjoying the little bit that I do. When teaching I was the union rep, but I considered that part of my job, not volunteering, although it was volunteering.

  8. #18
    rodeosweetheart
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    I used to volunteer a lot when I was not working or working part time. Then I got the job from hell and was working 70 hour weeks for very little pay. I will volunteer more when I recover from the job--still working part-time, but it's a full time teaching load. I did do some Bernie phone banking for the campaign.

  9. #19
    Senior Member Simplemind's Avatar
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    I do one 12 hour shift a week for a trauma intervention group (usually an unexpected death but can be any kind of trauma), then my husband and I do 2-3 days of Meals on Wheels which we love. I started that for him after he had his stroke because it helped him to practice remembering routes, orders and names. We have become very close to many of our clients. We also grow a huge garden in the summer and take most of it to the food bank or our MOW clients. I used to do Ski Patrol but haven't in a few years.
    I am more happy volunteering than I ever was at work. I love helping people first hand and seeing the results as opposed to my previous job that was cloaked in negativity and interactions were overwhelmingly negative.

  10. #20
    Senior Member Rogar's Avatar
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    I volunteer about 25 hours a week each spring monitoring raptor migrations, which is basically standing on a ridge counting and identifying hawks and eagles on their way north. The organization that holds the data is a network of similar places around the U.S. and many or most of them use volunteer help. hawkcount.org. Also, our county has a huge open space program and during the summer I do a full day a week and have been in a couple of programs. One to inventory amphibians and one to inventory birds. They both fit what I enjoy and require a few new skills I've learned. I never had time to volunteer in my employed days.

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