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Giving Back
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Volunteering
Giving Back
<font face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif" size="1">Learn how to volunteer, what NGO's (non-government organization) might be interesting to volunteer for and more. Don't be surprised to meet neighborhood heroes and talk to others about giving back in your community.</font>
My children are all grown and on their own. I have a full time job, but am looking for some fulfillment in my life. I'm wondering if anyone knows of an organization or where I can start lo
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Cat:7c09aa80-efe3-4033-8728-c6281fe91054Forum:37eb9155-e6a8-4678-b36c-372bbb4ae2f5
Cat:7c09aa80-efe3-4033-8728-c6281fe91054Forum:37eb9155-e6a8-4678-b36c-372bbb4ae2f5Discussion:6600ad02-421e-4807-aec1-51f6072cb17a
Forums » Giving Back » Volunteering » Giving Back
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Re: Giving Back
posted at December 21, 2011 11:02 AM EST
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Posts: 1
First: December 21, 2011 Last: December 21, 2011 |
In Response to Giving Back: My children are all grown and on their own. I have a full time job, but am looking for some fulfillment in my life. I'm wondering if anyone knows of an organization or where I can start looking for some volunteer work in the Roslyn, New York area................Gigi Posted by Gigi1251 Gigi, There are so many organizations that rely on volunteers. You should be warned, however, they can be a very demanding consumer of your time and resources (such as traveling in your vehicle, computer use, etc.). Any of the assistance organizations such as The American Red Cross, Salvation Army, Catholic Charities, Local churches that administer programs, such as soup kitchens and thrift stores, usually all need volunteers. Also major hospitals utilize volunteers. If you're really ambitious many school districts need crossing guards, while they usually pay for the service, it's really volunteering). Hope this helps. I volunteered while I was working with the American Red Cross. I was the Family Service Supervisor for all of Riverside County in California. I volunteered for over 7 years and enjoyed the experience. As with most of us, I had to "move on" but I am really glad I had time and fortitude to volunteer. Good luck on your quest. |
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Re: Giving Back
posted at December 23, 2011 5:02 PM EST
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Posts: 2
First: December 23, 2011 Last: December 23, 2011 |
One way of giving back or volunteer is to become a Senior Buddy Reader as I am in Meriden, CT., a small city in central CT. It's a Children first Initiative with grant money to pay a leader. volunteers are retired adults who tutor reading to 1st or 2nd graders in Meriden public schools that want to participate. We review spelling words, have students read from their reading series and/or paperback books from a book cart and play reading games. some are board games, some are with sight words on flash cards. It doesn't take a lot of training. many grandparents do these kinds of things with their grandchildren. We try to give 3 new, hard cover books to each child each year. I volunteer 1x/wk. for 90 min. Others choose 2x/wk. for 60-90 min. each time. We meet with students 1:1 and they love the individual attention. For those of us like me who are retired teachers, it provides an opportunity to still work with children without taking work home. A good organizer to set-up this program and get materials at publishers of reading materials. Maybe companies would donate funds or someone could apply for state or federal grant money for literacy skill development.
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Re: Giving Back
posted at February 10, 2012 1:43 PM EST
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Posts: 7
First: February 10, 2012 Last: February 28, 2012 |
Tuesday February 14th, at 10:00 a.m. ET, Jane Pauley speaks with ‘Your Life Calling’ guest Jenny Bowen, winner of the AARP Purpose Prize, and community outreach expert, Barb Quaintance. Jenny Bowen founded “Half the Sky Foundation,” a non-profit that helps Chinese orphans overcome the pain of loneliness through foster families. Barb Quaintance is Senior Vice President of AARP’s Civic Outreach program, which strives to support non-profits and create meaningful volunteer opportunities. Visit http://www.aarp.org/jane to listen, or call 1-855-444-JANE (5263) to join the conversation. Also tweet questions using #askjane. |
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Re: Giving Back
posted at February 20, 2012 6:54 PM EST
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Posts: 503
First: October 30, 2009 Last: February 20, 2012 |
In Response to Giving Back: My children are all grown and on their own. I have a full time job, but am looking for some fulfillment in my life. I'm wondering if anyone knows of an organization or where I can start looking for some volunteer work in the Roslyn, New York area................Gigi Posted by Gigi1251 Hi Gigi...... I just saw your post, so I'll assume you are one 'happy camper' enriching your life by now as a Volunteer. If not, did you check out the local Food Bank? I know from personal experience, they are always needing help. What about a local Senior Program? In my Community we have Meals on Wheels which is an excellent program, especially for shut-ins. Law Enforcement is always seeking assistance. I've been Volunteering over 25yrs. and the rewards are immeasurable. Anyway, hope you're out there contributing Gigi.  Cindy (cin170)
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Re: AARP Giving Back? Or must we volunteer with another community organization?
posted at April 14, 2012 10:50 AM EDT
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Posts: 5
First: July 14, 2010 Last: April 14, 2012 |
My wife and I have made two attempts to reach a local AARP Community Volunteer group. Thus far, we have received no responses or call-backs from an AARP representative. We previously found (in early March) on this AARP website about the scheduling, when, where, etc. and an email address. Then, on the designated date and time, we visited the meeting location and found that the building doors were locked. A township employee who happened to be at that location knew nothing about any AARP or other pre-scheduled meeting for that day and kindly telephoned her office to recheck or confirm the calendar's schedule. The reply was that no person or group had reserved the room for that day. So now we ask a simple question. Are local AARP Groups bogus? How do willing members find out about voluneer opportunities in one's own community? Should we volunteer for Red Cross, Salvation Army, Unicef, etc? |
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Re: Giving Back
posted at May 7, 2012 10:57 PM EDT
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Posts: 4
First: May 7, 2012 Last: May 7, 2012 |
If you are anywhere in the Greater L.A. area there are two great groups that I've written about, and you can visit their websites to find out about volunteer opportunities. Valley View Vaulters - an equestrian program that mainstreams handicapped and non-handicapped youngsters and young adults in a competitive vaulting program. Vaulting is gymnastics on moving horses. They are the only team in the American Vaulting Association that has handicapped members, and they consistently take home medals while creating miracles. My story in Chicken Soup for the Soul: Celebrating Those Who Make a Difference, is actually an "as told to" from the one-armed coach who founded the program, Rick Hawthorne. Visit their website: www.valleyviewvaulters.com. This non-profit always needs help and it is extremely gratifying. 826 LA - a nonprofit dedicated to encouraging reading and writing skills in children. This program actually takes them through publishing their own books and is run by Executive Director Joel Arquillos who has won many accolades and honors for his never-ending dedication to teaching. Joel and the program were profiled in the Los Angeles edition of examiner.com, and again, they can always use volunteers. There is nothing quite like the feeling of helping others. .
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Calling all angels!
posted at June 4, 2012 2:00 PM EDT
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Posts: 1
First: June 4, 2012 Last: June 4, 2012 |
I am one of a small caring circle of friends who has been helping our dear friend, who suffered anoxic brain injury after a heart attack in January. Our friend has been in and out of rehab and is currently living in an assisted living facility in the East Bay of the SF Bay Area. Our circle is continuing to provide regular visits as much as we can, which she desperately needs for stimulation and continued healing, but we are very few and have realized that she and we need to expand our circle. If you have room in your heart and time in your day to offer, we would be beyond grateful. Our friend has an extraordinary sense of humor and huge heart, and we have found she helps us as much if not more than we help her. A plus is if you have interpreter skills, as she was a long-time teacher of the deaf and hard of hearing, and appears to communicate more freely when she can sign and speak at the same time. However, this is not a requirement by any means. If you are interested in talking further or receiving more information, please email me at intheview@gmail.com. Thank you thank you thank you from the bottom of our hearts. |
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Re: Giving Back
posted at June 30, 2012 11:07 AM EDT
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Posts: 2
First: June 27, 2012 Last: June 30, 2012 |
There is a wonderful free website www.wishuponahero.com that you can search people's wishes and you can become their Hero by granting their wish. Wishes are as small as cards and prayers to donating a kidney! People wish for pet help, money for food, clothes, auto repair, gas, medical needs. You can look by town, state or even a health need like cancer, etc. If you or you know someone who needs help just post your wish. Check it out and tell me what you think. |
Forums » Giving Back » Volunteering » Giving Back
