We VOLUNTEER our Time! Congratulate Yourself & Post Ideas!

[AtLast]

Give yourself some recognition as a volunteer! Post about what kinds of things you volunteer time for. Hoping this thread gives others ideas about what might be something they can give time to and get on out there!

I volunteer a lot of time to political action during election years, but also time at public libraries to help adults to read. I want to start a small cooking class for diabetic teens in my home to teach more healthy cooking techniques (and food choices, how to shop, etc.) and help promote healthy weight loss. I am just going to do this free-lance, not connect it with an organization at this time. Maybe a monthly meeting right now and 3 kids, as I will have to foot the grocery bill. Want to see if this will work.

VOLUNTEER TO YOUR COMMUNITY and make a difference! Besides, its fun!

[Andrew, Jr.]

I participate in a lot of volunteer work. I do everything when I can due to my health. It ranges from making sandwiches for the homeless & poor, to feeding them during holidays, to handing out bags of groceries. It gives me joy to do this. I expect nothing in return.

I also pray for those who are sick, poor, and needy. Some online, and some who come to me in real time. I am not sure of why, but people seek me out. I go to St. Jude's Shrine to pray. Sometimes for hours at a time or for a few minutes. I remember when TJ's parents wrote me about their daughter's battle with cancer. The agony in their voices could just reach out and touch you. I sent them a prayer card, and the rosaries from St. Jude's that I used when my sister, JoAnn, was dying of skin cancer. The gift of prayer is very powerful and wonderful. It isn't something that you just give away. It is something that shows love and dedication to one's beliefs and giving hope for the future. It may not be what we want. It is in God's hands.

Good thread. I look forward to see what others do.

Namaste,
Andrew

[AtLast]

My hope is that a lot of us do step out of just volunteering within our queer community so that we touch others and maybe build some communication and help stop hate.

[Soft*Silver]

one of the exciting things that will happen once I move to Rose Cottage, is my ability to foster dogs. We have a local pound that is a kill pound. Every Friday. I am going to work with a local charity that pulls these dogs on Thursdays. They need foster homes. I wil specialize in the big breed of dogs. I have a newf now and I'm getting newf 2 after I move.) I am fencing the back yard and will be putting up a kennel to isolate them from my personal pets until we get a health clearance..then they can come into the house...

I am a Master Gardener too and for my community service I will be setting up some kind of horticulture therapy activity. One year I put in a children's garden for an inner city program that worked with kids who were infected or affected by HIV. This years activity will be smaller..I have alot on my plate right now but I will think of something.

[MissGentleman]

Is necroposting allowed, cos I'm thinking of getting a couple of volunteer jobs this summer.

My mum, albeit indirectly, has given me permission to volunteer for my city's pride festival! Which is surprising as she believes I'm 100 per cent heterosexual cos I happen to like guys as well as girls *facepalm*

The other volunteer thing will probably be another community project.

Wish me luck!

[Passionaria]

Right now I am on the board of our local Community Radio Station doing outreach to local non-profits that are undeserved by the media. I also train people in radio skills. Allgo, here in Texas is one of my favorite organizations. I would love to see them get more press. But after some of the hateful stuff I have seen happening here in the South, it makes me worried for their safety as well. Double edged sword, safer when quiet? I don't think so. The media / Hollywood has kept John Trudell alive. IMHO

Pashi

[SelfMadeMan]

I volunteer for the MN Patriot Guard, for those of you who aren't familiar with the group, it's a group of motorcycle riders who escort and hold flag lines to honor fallen soldiers, as well as doing welcome homes and send-offs.

I also do as many charity motorcycle runs as I can fit in during the spring & summer, my favorite being the Cruise for Kids run for the Rochester, MN Ronald McDonald House. Last year we raised over $124,000 in ONE DAY for the kids!

And in the next month or so, I plan to volunteer for Meals on Wheels to help feed the elderly/disabled

[Soft*Silver]

Interesting...two people repped me for this post today. I just acquired fencing to put up dog kennels! Someone was giving it away and I grabbed it! I have a friend putting it up for me and next I need to work on some dog houses. Now the dogs can come to me and be quarantined outside until they see the vet and have enuf time to display symptoms if they are harboring any contagious diseases.

Originally Posted by softness

one of the exciting things that will happen once I move to Rose Cottage, is my ability to foster dogs. We have a local pound that is a kill pound. Every Friday. I am going to work with a local charity that pulls these dogs on Thursdays. They need foster homes. I wil specialize in the big breed of dogs. I have a newf now and I'm getting newf 2 after I move.) I am fencing the back yard and will be putting up a kennel to isolate them from my personal pets until we get a health clearance..then they can come into the house...

I am a Master Gardener too and for my community service I will be setting up some kind of horticulture therapy activity. One year I put in a children's garden for an inner city program that worked with kids who were infected or affected by HIV. This years activity will be smaller..I have alot on my plate right now but I will think of something.

[TrixieSwizzle]

This is a great thread!!!

~" You make a living by what you get. You make a life by what you give." Winston Churchill

I have always tried to give back, volunteered with the Red Cross with the hurricanes Katrina and Rita, no-kill animal shelter, Aids Peer Counselor, you name it. When I was young i never realized what a feeling it gives you to help someone out with what you may take for granted. I commend all of you!!! Take pride in yourselves and never become cynical of what you can do for others - not everyone is out to take advantage, some just need a hand and if we can do it why not? I always feel that there by the grace of God go i.....

Once again GREAT THREAD!!!

[cuddlyfemme]

I volunteer at Project Pet...a no kill shelter for dogs and cats. I mainly work with socializing the kitties who have been abused and are scared of people. Soon, I'll be working on the adoption screening process

[Lady_Wu]

I can't drive, so must depend on the kindness of friends to go anywhere non-medical. I am used to doing volunteer work, however, so found a few ways to volunteer online. I click each day for the Literacy, the Hunger, and the Rainforest Projects. Just for doing this, sponsors provide books for children. x-amounts of food for the hungry, and save/reclaim x-amounts of Rainforest land. Takes so little time, yet does so much! If one buys from the various stores associated with each site, them more gets donated. I also sign petitions, write letters, and do whatever else I can for causes for which I fight. Also, on the non-online side, I go through my closet once per year and give many clothes to the local shelter. This year I am considering offering-for FREE-some very nice clothes on Queerbay to anyone who would like them. Well, not quite free, since I am extremely poor, the recipient would have to pay postage. I have some very stylish coats, barely worn, and some Winter Sun skirt/shirt combinations which I cannot wear anymore due to extreme weight loss. Unfortunately, I am continuing to lose weight, so I doubt that I'll be wearing the Winter Sun clothes anymore. They are gently worn-no holes, tears, fading, rips, etc. I take very good care of my clothes! Anyone interested just from reading this post, PM me. They are medium but Winter Sun runs big and the skirt waists generally have elastic.
Namaste,
Lady_Wu

[cuddlyfemme]

My newest volunteer job is fostering kitties. I had no plans on doing this because of the emotions involved but a 2 year old orange tabby really needed a foster home. So, along with my 3 cats, I have Goldie the Cat now at my house

[Mrs. Strutt]

I support two organizations: Cut It Out - Salons Against Domestic Abuse, and Look Good...Feel Better, which is a free public service program to help women cope with their appearance and improve their self-esteem during cancer treatment.

[storyofmylife]

Awesome thread!
It is so wonderful to see volunteering from the Heart!
I love to volunteer ...... it makes my life complete.
During the Holidays through out the year, my bestfriend and
I would make and donate gift baskets for the children in the
homeless shelter. Helping out in our local soup kitchen.
Also helping local disable elderly with their daily needs such as
going to grocery store for them , doing laundry , help clean their
home or drive them to the doctor s office. And some fun stuff like
painting their nails, playing board games or just sit and listen to
them tell their childhood life stories.
I also have been fostering animals since I was a kid.
Every year my flower/ veggie garden gets bigger because I like to
give them away.

[Arwen]

I volunteer with a breed rescue group, B.R.A.T. We rescue Basenji and Basenji-mix dogs. I primarily do home visits. I've driven down to San Antonio and back to make sure a home was a good one. I'm delighted to say that particular home took in a lovely 9 year old B. They met my Nayru, who is the perfect ambassador for the breed. Another family here in Austin also met her. They adopted a rascally 7 month old mix.

I'm passionate about rescue. All of my animals that I currently have were strays other than Nayru (and my eldest cat...he was heading to the shelter when I scooped him up 10 years or so ago.)

I'd like to get involved with our local literacy program as well. Reading opened my world up. I'd like to do that for someone else.

Great thread, ALH.

[Inked_Trinity]

I volunteer at a no-kill animal shelter. I do a lot of transports for them. Picking up animals from other shelters so they have a better chance for adoption. I also work with the cats, socializing them.

[Diva]

What a terrific thread! Glad it was bumped!

My Mom was the best influence on me as far as "giving back"....I've been a volunteer of some sort since I was 15....starting in a nursing home as a Red Cross Volunteer...then here at Breckenridge Hospital.....

In college, I read to elementary children in the library. And on and on.......

Currently, I'm a volunteer for Dell Children's Hospital and Out Youth. Also, I run errands for Safe Place.

One thing I love to do is throw my bi~annual parties and have a cause......so my guests bring things (their "entrance fee") to donate.....one year it was for Toys For Tots, Safe Place, the Austin Food Pantry (which serves women who are dealing with HIV/AIDS), Blue Santa, etc. It makes a party worth throwing, to be sure!

Volunteering is a marvelous way to give of Yourself. It just feels good and good is done!

[Nat]

I'm currently tutoring an Iranian woman, but seriously she teaches me more than I teach her. She's already got a stellar brain and a pretty good command of English. Half the questions she has are questions I have to look up in order to help explain. They are the shades of difference between words that are similar, just small things.

But now the Literacy Council has asked me to be on their board, and I've agreed. I'm overwhelmed but honored. I started a facebook page for them. I need to set them up with PayPal. They aren't tech-savvy. I'm not super-savvy either, but I know how to start up a PayPal account so I'm golden.

-----------------------

There is an awesome graveyard I saw recently. It's an African-American graveyard just outside the main cemetery next to the railroad tracks which up until 2002 had mostly unmarked graves. The origins are not entirely recorded, but it is thought that slaves, former slaves and their descendents have been buried there. In 2002, the cemetery was restored, and all the unmarked graves were marked with markers with the word "unknown." Each grave was also given a cross or silk flowers, and a large iron fence was put up around the entire perimeter.

Last week I took M to see it. Somebody had bulldozed into it with what had to be a massive truck or tractor or piece of machinery. A large beer bottle in a bag lay on the ground outside the mangled and uprooted fence. Many of the crosses and flowers had been uprooted.

M and I went through and picked up and replaced all the flowers and crosses that we could - though two of the crosses were broken. The fence is too expensive for us to replace, but I'm hoping to find a place to make some donations toward fixing it. I suppose it could have been an accident, except that the crosses and flowers looked like they'd been kicked and pulled up randomly - not knocked down by a truck. It was a small reminder that this town isn't especially welcoming or safe for people of color.

Anyway, I like cemeteries. I think on my own if I could get my sh*t together, I would wander local cemeteries with a trash bag and pick up trash, right tombstones small enough for me to handle and generally spread a bit of love among the dead. I know I'm weird.

Here's an article about the cemetery - apparently it cost $22 a foot to build the fence.

[1QuirkyKiwi]

I’m a volunteer Arts Co-ordinator for a Disabled Arts Studio and the local Hospice. I sew and hand embroider blankets for the local Special Care Baby Unit and the Hospice, as well as sewing and hand embroidering soft toys and other items for these places to raffle at Christmas and Summer Fetes.

I’ve been a volunteer Arts Co-ordinator in Nursing homes, other Disabled Arts Studios and Hospices’ in other cities I’ve lived. I was a volunteer for the NZ Red Cross and on my first time of living in the UK for the British Red Cross.

Edited to Add: Not sure if this counts; I take rescued kittens and cats until they have a forever home to go to or if they get on well with my tribe, live with us.

[deb_U_taunt]

Every June, the dept at work with, we spend a week prepping and painting a vet's, disabled or eldery person's home.
Last year our dept in the fall had a carnival for the preschool kids at Neighborhood House.
The battered women's shelter, some friends and I each took a room and decorated and made them nicer.
The company I work for also lets us take paid time off to work projects for United Way. Painted the interior of the Indian Walk in Center, tied ribbons for the Aids Foundation, cleaned up schools, cleaned, painted shelters, one of my favorite years round things to do, is baking cakes and having small birthday parties for the kids at the shelter.