How I did it: its a little harder to find time to volunteer when you're working. unfortunately, due to not having a working visa during one of my long stays in canada, i had to find a way to pass the time while my husband was studying/working. the winter months can be especially depressing when you're not busy. i made it my business to volunteer wherever i could. whilst online, i stumbled across an organization called the Weekend to End Breast Cancer - where participants raise funds/awareness over the course of several months, while training to walk the 60km over the said weekend. for my part, i did a lot of the more monotonous work, like mailing, folding t-shirts, organizing lists, check-up calls - but that was okay, because it was easy and rewarding. i'm sure they would have given me more responsibilities had i been bilingual.
 the best part was helping with recruiting the participants. these were meetings in schools mostly with middle-aged women, sharing their stories and getting excited about what they were doing. the longer i stayed on board with the project, the more involved i became - to a point where i even helped map out the route to be taken. it became addictive :)

Resources: craigslist is an excellent place to find volunteering opportunities, as are local newspapers and bulletin boards.

Dec 26, 2008, 07:57PM PST | 0 comments | 2 cheers