reggia is in transition to a new life
Although not at the food bank, I did begin a volunteer position with a hospice care program. It has been more rewarding than one might expect.
How I did it: It sounded like a great idea, to spend a few hours of my day painting benches outside of a home for low-income seniors (mostly old cubans like my grandparents it turned out). And man was i disappointed. First of all it was sponsored by disney. When we got there they MADE us stand in a line to get a goodie bag which contained mickey ears and a mickey glove, as well as a shirt with a Disney logo on it. they tried to get us to change into the shirts and wear the dumb ears and glove for a bunch of photos with donald and daisy duck. we were among the very few (out of the 200+ people who showed up) who wouldnt, and we stayed well away from the photo-op group. A bunch of people (the mayor, the "president of disney world" and some others) gave speeches. Good morning america filmed the event live. We got there at 7 am (as was requested of us), and the actual work didnt start until 9:30. I could have painted 10 benches by then but as it turned out, I didnt have to. There were only 2 benches. Thats right, 2. 12 of us had signed up to paint benches, so they took some of us and got us to paint metal beams of an outdoor walkway instead. As my sister and i were painting (and wondering aloud why we were painting an area that looked perfect. as though it had recently been painted...) an old woman walked up and told us it was ridiculous that we were painting...since what we were painting had been painted TWO WEEKS BEFORE. When we complained to the guy who was supervising us he told us it had actually only been primed. So we kept painting even though it was kind of disheartening to not see a difference before and after. Then an old man walked by and said they were only having us do this work so disney could get pictures of us with paint brushes in our hands. And that if we really wanted to make a difference we should go over to a building on the other side of the property that was really in disrepair. Of course that wasnt on the agenda. I overheard a conversation between two volunteers who had signed up to clean up garbage that had washed up on the shore (this place is behind the miami river) and they were saying there wasnt any garbage to clean up. And someone said "of course disney already had people clean it up. do you think they would take a bunch of pictures at a place full of garbage?" It just seemed so phony. While walking around my sister and i ran into some old ladies walking their dogs (separate encounters) and both times the women seemed so happy to have someone to talk to. It got me thinking that it would just be better to talk to these people than pretend i was doing something to help them when i really wasnt. All in
all kind of a depressing day.
Lessons & tips: Even though I said my efforts were not worth it, I am only referring to this specific volunteer opportunity. I have not given up on volunteering in general. I think I will just be wary of anything with a huge corporate sponsor.
Resources: Hands on Miami is a local group that gets the word out about various volunteer projects in my area. They have monthly calendars full of all types of volunteer projects one can sign up for (and almost all of them guaranteed to be more rewarding than this one).
reggia is in transition to a new life
Although not at the food bank, I did begin a volunteer position with a hospice care program. It has been more rewarding than one might expect.
RaspberryHatter *giggle* She's back!
I volunteered on campus at the Co-op last Thursday and had a great time. It’s a not-for-profit organisation and everyone there is super nice and downstairs is this horrible food court that I never want to be forced to frequent regularly so I am more than happy to try and help anyway I can to aid such an awesome establishment. So yes, planning to volunteer making sandwiches and doing dishes on Thursdays from now on! :)
RaspberryHatter *giggle* She's back!
I wanted to volunteer in soup kitchens or something like that but when I looked up the Salvos it said that you must be at least 18 to work at street level and I don’t know if I’d be good for anything else.
Also, I went to Lentil As Anything and wanted to ask them about volunteering but I’ll have to wait about a month before their meetings for prospective volunteers restart (after the holiday season) and my parents are on my case about getting a job before I start Uni.
So I’ll have to figure out a way to do what I want and what they want within the limitations of my age. I’ll get there :)
reggia is in transition to a new life
I haven’t worked in six months, and it has been even longer since I gave my time and energy to a volunteer position. I think I may start at the local food bank…
Helped out at the community centre and did some crafts with the children. Am going to think of an arts programme we can do with a friend next summer. Am living away at the moment so will put this on the back burner but have definately made progress.
Am doing some craft work with children at the community centre this wednesday. Looking forward to helping out -even better that I get to do art stuff!
Met a girl this week who gets involved with local volunteer groups, will keep in touch with her and sort it out when I get back from Hotham.
Mystic898 sometimes it's about not thinking too much..
Hi..
adding this new goal.. even though I’ve thought abt it A LOT. I would love to help out.. anyway.. anyhow..
But there are two major problems.. I have a lot on my plate that I’m not being able to ‘do properly’..
And I don’t have the resources.. to travel and help ppl..
But I guess.. helping around whr I stay and ppl around me should work till I have time and resources to spare for the ‘formally needy’..
I enjoy helping others and would like to do it more often. I would like to help those in need. Everyone needs a little kindness and understanding, let alone help every now and then!
I’ve actually had this finished since a little after my last log in to this dumb site.
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San Diego
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SWoo07 asks,
“I recently moved to southern california... and would love to do some volunteer work.. this is something i've alwayz wanted to do but never had the time... I Love working with children and simply helping people in need... any suggestions! thnx! =)”
— 2 years ago |
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Glasgow
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peppermintcream asks,
“does anyone have experience of volunteering at a gallery? it's something that really appeals but im not sure what kind of experience of qualifications i may need”
— 3 years ago |
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