Wednesday's Question of the Day: volunteer work?

Happy Wednesday everyone! Hope your after-holidays transition back to the grind is going well. Speaking of work...

Have you ever done any volunteer work? If so, what were your job duties?

I volunteered at our daughter's elementary school for 5 years. I'd shower, get dressed, and walk her to school every morning so it just seemed logical to stay there a while and help out. I was just going back home to do housework, anyway, and there I was all dressed. I helped out in the office, called parents whose kids weren't at school (some really young kids walked on their own to school), and coordinated the parent volunteers. I didn't work the last year (grade 5) since she got herself to and from school that year in preparation for her middle school commute, which involved taking two buses on her own.

I also had to volunteer (not sure if it should be called that when it is required) teaching children with severe autism when I was getting my second degree. Some of the kids were 18- 21 years old (adult-sized) and many were violent. One woman had her shirt ripped off of her body when one of the children had an episode. No one there was older than their 20's, and no one stayed longer than a year. It was a tough job - and not the area of special education I went into.

I have not. With my job and my meetings, sometimes it's all I do get done everything I need to do as it is. I do hope to be able to volunteer at a cat/animal shelter when I retire, but for right now, I simply can't.

Ever? I volunteered at a blood bank and as a tutor for underprivileged children as a teenager. The former involved talking to people while they were donating blood and serving them a snack afterwards. The latter meant not just helping kids with their schoolwork, but being a "big sister" and giving them one-on-one attention they often didn't get at home because their parent(s) often worked multiple jobs.

Since then, I've volunteered off and on at animal shelters and a rescue organization. I'm planning on being a regular shelter volunteer once I retire.

I'm not volunteering at the moment, but I did volunteer for two years at a therapeutic riding program, where kids to adults with various mental or physical disabilities or injuries take riding lessons. I helped out with leading the horse or pony, side-walking (Where my arm is pressed against the rider's leg, holding on to a handle on a specialilized saddle), teaching, grooming and mucking. It was a really nice experience, and it was a solid program - engaged the students in gradual physical and mental excercise, animal bonding, co-ordination, strengthening, gaining of new knowledge, overcoming class challenges and so forth, all the usual benefits and then some. So many kids were so happy!

Afterward, I volunteered at a Food Bank for a few months.

When I can, I would definitely like to get back to volunteering sometime in the future.

I spent several years as the photographer and writer for a shelter website.  I also used to record books for the blind. 

I usually do something, but I seem to be 'between volunteer jobs' at the moment.

I've volunteered all my life, ever since my mom made my sister and I, at the age of 12 or so, volunteer to read Bible passages to blind elders at a nursing home!

These days I volunteer as a translator for an online website:  http://globalvoicesonline.org/  though I haven't had  time the past few months to do as many translations as I'd like.

And I raise money for the SPCA every year by participating in the Wag-n-Wag event.  Last year our team (which was only hubby and I) came in sixth place for fundraising, and hubby was third place for individual donations. 

I do various other fundraising type things during the year but nothing on a regular basis.

No.  If I did not have so many cats I would have done fostering.  I plan to down road, would love to bottle feed as long as I support the place 100% for adoption and I know no foster was going to be euthed due to space. 

betsygee said:

 
These days I volunteer as a translator for an online website:  http://globalvoicesonline.org/  though I haven't had  time the past few months to do as many translations as I'd like.

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I haven't seen this site.  Thank you for sharing.  I've bookmarked it as it looks excellent.

What languages do you speak?

In community college, I was president of the school's chapter of Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society, so I did a lot of volunteering and organizing for that. The school actually awarded me a Women's Achievement Award for my charity work. Most of my work was fundraising, but I did volunteer at the local soup kitchen, I helped with the Red Cross blood drive, constructed angels for the school's Angel Tree, and I organized a food drive and picked up the donations (those boxes are heavy!). Someone actually stole one of our donation boxes. You have to be pretty strapped for food if you steal food from a food bank... just sayin'. 

But yea, more than that, I organized and participated in all sorts of sales -- bake, hot dog, donuts and hot chocolate -- to raise money for charity. We raised several thousand dollars for a number of different charities. I've tried to do the same at UNC, as I'm a student leader now as well... but it's just a different atmosphere with more strict regulations, and our organization isn't currently funded, so I feel like my hands are tied. Getting volunteers is no easy task either. It's so academically rigorous and there's so much other stuff going on... it just doesn't seem to work out.

Mani said:

 
I haven't seen this site.  Thank you for sharing.  I've bookmarked it as it looks excellent.

What languages do you speak?

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Cool!     It's a website for bloggers reporting news that mainstream media misses or isn't interested in.  I translate from Spanish to English and also English to Spanish--not everybody goes both ways.  Hmmm.  Did that sound odd?  

betsygee said:

 

Mani said:

 
I haven't seen this site.  Thank you for sharing.  I've bookmarked it as it looks excellent.

What languages do you speak?

Click to expand...

Cool!  

  It's a website for bloggers reporting news that mainstream media misses or isn't interested in.  I translate from Spanish to English and also English to Spanish--not everybody goes both ways.  Hmmm.  Did that sound odd?  

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No.. that sounded very sensible.

Don't know how I missed this thread yesterday but yes I have volunteered at a local animal shelter a few years ago.  I only did it for one summer.  My duties were to clean out cages, sweep floors, make sure the kitties had fresh water, just normal cleaning up.  My favorite part was taking the kits out of the cages for a little exercise.  Loved playing with those kittens.

I had to volunteer in high school to be a member of the National Honor Society. I was a volunteer tutor for a lot of the time, mostly in chemistry and mathematics (ended up getting a degree in theoretical math when I went to college ha). I also volunteered at my local library in junior high/high school during the summer and played educational games with kids for an hour a few times a week. I always wanted to share knowledge

All high schoolers here need to complete 40 hours of volunteer work in order to graduate. l don't volunteer at all any more, outside of things that are organized either at work or by a friend.

While my kids were playing (ice) hockey, l volunteered for the multitude of things that are needed to keep minor hockey alive. Also while my kids were in school, l'd go in once a week or so and help with classes, baking, crafts, or whatever was needed.

Andrya said:

 
All high schoolers here need to complete 40 hours of volunteer work in order to graduate. 

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That's great! 

Mani said:

I spent several years as the photographer and writer for a shelter website.  I also used to record books for the blind. 
I usually do something, but I seem to be 'between volunteer jobs' at the moment.

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You volunteer here as a Moderator.

AbbysMom said:

 

Mani said:

I spent several years as the photographer and writer for a shelter website.  I also used to record books for the blind. 
I usually do something, but I seem to be 'between volunteer jobs' at the moment.

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You volunteer here as a Moderator.

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    You're right, but somehow I don't see it that way..

For many years I produced the magazine for our yoga association and that's similar.  It doesn't seem quite like volunteering.  More a labour of love.  But then good volunteering should be that.

And now I'm just waffling on.  I shall leave it to others to determine what 'volunteering' is....