Do you volunteer or do charity work?
CallMeMamaBoo
Posts: 295
Hey Fellow MFP'ers!
I am continually finding inspiration, motivation, compassion, and love through several of the activities I participate with on my free time. As a stay at home mommy, I have chosen to give much of my time to volunteering in my community. I want to hear about others like me! Where do you volunteer and why?
I'll start.
I do 5 hours a week with a Suicide hotline office.
---Suicide first became a part of my life at the age of 13 when my best friend decided her parents didn't want her anymore because she was overweight and it hit me again when my first husband went to Iraq and couldn't handle the pressures of his military life.
I do 10-15 hours a week with a thrift store run by our area Senior Citizens. It provides paying jobs to the elderly who don't make enough on S.S. and provides clothing and household items to those in need or in times of crisis. I became involved with them when my elderly aunt lost her house and everything in it to fire. I felt the need to give back.
All year round I give endless hours to our local Veterans and military families during military holidays like, Memorial Day and Veterans Day. I spend time with deployed families and organize play dates and shopping dates and all sorts of fun things. I spend time cleaning grave stones of Veterans and families of Veterans. I do this, number 1, because our military sacrifice more than we can comprehend, and number 2, because all my brothers and father were or are active military men, including my husband who is currently a Reservist with the United States Navy.
and lastly,
I give all my clothing and toys and household goods to our local Woman's Shelter. I am a survivor of parental abuse and feel a strong connection to all who enter and have spend countless hours talking, crying, and just listening with those women and children and it's a large part of the person I am today.
I am constantly looking for more ways to volunteer and give back. The biggest part of my weight loss journey is going to be able to run for charity some day. Some foundations I plan to run for are cancer and diabetes. So many to choose from these days, I almost feel overwhelmed with the idea of having to choose!!!
So let's hear it! So many of you are such amazing people here, I am anxious to hear what you do when you're not logging food and exercise!
I am continually finding inspiration, motivation, compassion, and love through several of the activities I participate with on my free time. As a stay at home mommy, I have chosen to give much of my time to volunteering in my community. I want to hear about others like me! Where do you volunteer and why?
I'll start.
I do 5 hours a week with a Suicide hotline office.
---Suicide first became a part of my life at the age of 13 when my best friend decided her parents didn't want her anymore because she was overweight and it hit me again when my first husband went to Iraq and couldn't handle the pressures of his military life.
I do 10-15 hours a week with a thrift store run by our area Senior Citizens. It provides paying jobs to the elderly who don't make enough on S.S. and provides clothing and household items to those in need or in times of crisis. I became involved with them when my elderly aunt lost her house and everything in it to fire. I felt the need to give back.
All year round I give endless hours to our local Veterans and military families during military holidays like, Memorial Day and Veterans Day. I spend time with deployed families and organize play dates and shopping dates and all sorts of fun things. I spend time cleaning grave stones of Veterans and families of Veterans. I do this, number 1, because our military sacrifice more than we can comprehend, and number 2, because all my brothers and father were or are active military men, including my husband who is currently a Reservist with the United States Navy.
and lastly,
I give all my clothing and toys and household goods to our local Woman's Shelter. I am a survivor of parental abuse and feel a strong connection to all who enter and have spend countless hours talking, crying, and just listening with those women and children and it's a large part of the person I am today.
I am constantly looking for more ways to volunteer and give back. The biggest part of my weight loss journey is going to be able to run for charity some day. Some foundations I plan to run for are cancer and diabetes. So many to choose from these days, I almost feel overwhelmed with the idea of having to choose!!!
So let's hear it! So many of you are such amazing people here, I am anxious to hear what you do when you're not logging food and exercise!
0
Replies
-
I am a hospice volunteer, although I am on baby leave right now. I get assigned 1 patient that I go and visit once a week and spend an hour or so with, depending on how they are feeling. We watch TV, read books, talk, hold hands, etc. On special days like holidays or their birthday I will go out and by them a special treat of their request.0
-
*high five* for volunteers!
I do occasional construction work for Habitat. I also volunteer weekly as a reader at Recordings for the Blind and Dyslexic - we read and record textbooks for use by people that can't see or like to have the recordings to help w/ their studies.0 -
I did 300 hours of volunteer work for my City, Police, and Fire departments last year. When I tell people about that I always feel the need to mention that I wasn't sentenced to do that work.
0 -
Right now I am so busy that the only volunteer work I can squeeze in is the work I do at my church. I help with youth group Wed night, print the bulletins, and bring snack on Sunday every other month. And I am the nursery director.
When I finish my degree I hope to add working at the Soup Kitchen once a month when it is our church's turn. When my 6 year is a bit older(I homeschool her) I would like to volunteer at the pregnancy care center.0 -
Seven years on the lifeboats for me...0
-
I am a hospice volunteer, although I am on baby leave right now. I get assigned 1 patient that I go and visit once a week and spend an hour or so with, depending on how they are feeling. We watch TV, read books, talk, hold hands, etc. On special days like holidays or their birthday I will go out and by them a special treat of their request.
That is incredibly sweet. I wish there was something like that near my grandma. She is alone much of the time and too far for me to travel often. Recently, she fell and couldn't get herself up and had been laying for hours! Worse part about it was my older aunt is living with her and never bothered to check on her. I will have to look into this some more and see what things are out there so that she can get more visitors. I know she has a paid hospice that comes for a few minutes in the mornings and evenings but none that stay to visit. Good for you!!!0 -
I coached inner city kids for 18 years. Baseball & football.0
-
I used to volunteer (3 summers) for a therapeutic riding program and I volunteered helping a mom out with her special needs daughter (4 years)...But than we moved. Right now I am focusing on finding a paying job. Then I will put my energy into finding a place to volunteer. I have always wanted to be in a program where I can bring my dog into hospitals, shelters, ect....Because she is a really great dog and would love it, so would I : ) But I don't know how to get involved in that. If anyone knows anything about that you can message me : )0
-
*high five* for volunteers!
I do occasional construction work for Habitat. I also volunteer weekly as a reader at Recordings for the Blind and Dyslexic - we read and record textbooks for use by people that can't see or like to have the recordings to help w/ their studies.
THAT is awesome. I would totally screw up reading anything out loud, I think.0 -
I do volunteer work for animal shelters & rescue agencies. I also rescue american pit bull terriers, get them healthy & find them a good home!0
-
I am currently training to run a 5K and a half marathon to raise money for my kids' conditions. My daughter has a rare metabolic disease called Propionic Acidemia. It's 75% fatal in the first two weeks and a tight rope to walk every day that she's alive. She is the only child ever born in WV to live long enough with the disease to be diagnosed. In October, a few of us PA moms from all over the country are running in the Nationwide Better Health Columbus half marathon to raise funds for research into this heartbreaking disease. On April 30, I'm also going to run a 5K in Huntington WV to raise money for Marshall University's Autism Training Center, who provided us with the training we needed when my son was young and diagnosed with Autism. We have come very, very close to recovering him, and I want others to have the opportunity to recover their children too.
I also do what I can for The Ronald McDonald House, Make a Wish, The Children's Miracle Network and WVU Children's Hospital, all of which we've required the services of. I am a great networker as well, and help anyone I can in what ever capacity that I can to help them get services for their own disabled children, especially navigating the ridiculous bureaucracy of the state and federal governments. This is what I consider my real job.
In my "spare" time, I'm also a registered nurse on an orthopedic/medsurg unit at one of the hospitals in our capital city.0 -
I did 300 hours of volunteer work for my City, Police, and Fire departments last year. When I tell people about that I always feel the need to mention that I wasn't sentenced to do that work.
LOL!!! When I started reading this, I wondered....0 -
Well...I don't really like to toot my own horn, if you know what I mean...but if it inpsires others to "Get Involved" then I guess that it is okay.
I am a Girl Scout troop leader (3-4 hrs a week). I am the Employment Specialist for our church (up to 5 hrs a week). I am the Past-President Elect of our PTA (or we call it PTK-Parent, Teachers for Kids), and am very active at the school (depending on the event or the need, up to 20 hrs a week). I also am one of the PTK Kids Advisors (the group I started with a teacher to get the kids more involved in doing service for the school), which includes doing the AR Store for reading points and the School Store for purchasing the school items, as well as fundraising, etc). I also use my scrabooking talents and business to do fundraisers when I can, or to provide creative ways to teach others to bring joy to friends, families and people in need. I also do public speaking events and workshops pro-bono for our community on business issues (employee development, leadership & management classes).0 -
I belong to quilting groups at two churches. We make quilts that go overseas with a church relief agency and locally to a women's shelter, vets' shelter, and nursing home.0
-
I am currently training to run a 5K and a half marathon to raise money for my kids' conditions. My daughter has a rare metabolic disease called Propionic Acidemia. It's 75% fatal in the first two weeks and a tight rope to walk every day that she's alive. She is the only child ever born in WV to live long enough with the disease to be diagnosed. In October, a few of us PA moms from all over the country are running in the Nationwide Better Health Columbus half marathon to raise funds for research into this heartbreaking disease. On April 30, I'm also going to run a 5K in Huntington WV to raise money for Marshall University's Autism Training Center, who provided us with the training we needed when my son was young and diagnosed with Autism. We have come very, very close to recovering him, and I want others to have the opportunity to recover their children too.
I also do what I can for The Ronald McDonald House, Make a Wish, The Children's Miracle Network and WVU Children's Hospital, all of which we've required the services of. I am a great networker as well, and help anyone I can in what ever capacity that I can to help them get services for their own disabled children, especially navigating the ridiculous bureaucracy of the state and federal governments. This is what I consider my real job.
In my "spare" time, I'm also a registered nurse on an orthopedic/medsurg unit at one of the hospitals in our capital city.
and you, my dear, sound amazing!!!0 -
I do volunteer work for animal shelters & rescue agencies. I also rescue american pit bull terriers, get them healthy & find them a good home!
If my family would allow, I would LOVE to do this for pugs. Pugs are just awesome little dogs.0 -
I am a hospice volunteer, although I am on baby leave right now. I get assigned 1 patient that I go and visit once a week and spend an hour or so with, depending on how they are feeling. We watch TV, read books, talk, hold hands, etc. On special days like holidays or their birthday I will go out and by them a special treat of their request.
That is incredibly sweet. I wish there was something like that near my grandma. She is alone much of the time and too far for me to travel often. Recently, she fell and couldn't get herself up and had been laying for hours! Worse part about it was my older aunt is living with her and never bothered to check on her. I will have to look into this some more and see what things are out there so that she can get more visitors. I know she has a paid hospice that comes for a few minutes in the mornings and evenings but none that stay to visit. Good for you!!!
Awww, thank you. I could have written this post word for word in regards to my Grandma and older Aunt that lives with her :mad: I get great joy from my patients.0 -
I used to volunteer (3 summers) for a therapeutic riding program and I volunteered helping a mom out with her special needs daughter (4 years)...But than we moved. Right now I am focusing on finding a paying job. Then I will put my energy into finding a place to volunteer. I have always wanted to be in a program where I can bring my dog into hospitals, shelters, ect....Because she is a really great dog and would love it, so would I : ) But I don't know how to get involved in that. If anyone knows anything about that you can message me : )
Contact your local nursing homes. They LOVE having pets visit. I take my cat to the nursing home that my mother works at and they just love her to pieces!0 -
I'm an assistant cubmaster for my son's cub scout troop, and I tutor ESL at the local library. Tutoring gives me a lot of perspective and my students and I know each other well enough to give each other support and encouragement in our "real lives." It is SO rewarding.0
-
I am a hospice volunteer, although I am on baby leave right now. I get assigned 1 patient that I go and visit once a week and spend an hour or so with, depending on how they are feeling. We watch TV, read books, talk, hold hands, etc. On special days like holidays or their birthday I will go out and by them a special treat of their request.
That is incredibly sweet. I wish there was something like that near my grandma. She is alone much of the time and too far for me to travel often. Recently, she fell and couldn't get herself up and had been laying for hours! Worse part about it was my older aunt is living with her and never bothered to check on her. I will have to look into this some more and see what things are out there so that she can get more visitors. I know she has a paid hospice that comes for a few minutes in the mornings and evenings but none that stay to visit. Good for you!!!
Awww, thank you. I could have written this post word for word in regards to my Grandma and older Aunt that lives with her :mad: I get great joy from my patients.
I may need to look into doing something like this. You never know when you might have the opportunity to help someone else's grandma. I can't imagine how many times things like that must happen across the country.0 -
I'm an assistant cubmaster for my son's cub scout troop, and I tutor ESL at the local library. Tutoring gives me a lot of perspective and my students and I know each other well enough to give each other support and encouragement in our "real lives." It is SO rewarding.
As a mother to 2 daughters, I've often thought about getting involved in our church cub scout troop to familiarize myself with handling little boys. I have 5 nieces and not much experience with boys. If I ever have another child and it turns out to be a boy....I'll be so clueless!0 -
I work with my local humane society and Georgia's Right To Life. I have also worked with Operation Christmas Child and that is by far one of the most touching things I have ever done. I hope to go back and be able to work at a distribution center again. I have also worked with pregnant teens and young mothers...as I was one myself. The stigma of having a child in your teens is hard as I tell them and have them tell others is 'I chose to have sex, I choose to have this child, and I refuse to have an abortion'. I have always worked with at least 2-3 charities at a time...I can't help but feel happy when I can help someone out. Just knowing that I can put a smile on someones face makes me smile as well. If I'm having a rough day I sit back and remember that there are others out there that have it so much worse than I...and I need to be thankful for what I have and try to give what I can. Also, I work in childrens church as a teacher and do VBS each year, lol.0
-
I work with my local humane society and Georgia's Right To Life. I have also worked with Operation Christmas Child and that is by far one of the most touching things I have ever done. I hope to go back and be able to work at a distribution center again. I have also worked with pregnant teens and young mothers...as I was one myself. The stigma of having a child in your teens is hard as I tell them and have them tell others is 'I chose to have sex, I choose to have this child, and I refuse to have an abortion'. I have always worked with at least 2-3 charities at a time...I can't help but feel happy when I can help someone out. Just knowing that I can put a smile on someones face makes me smile as well. If I'm having a rough day I sit back and remember that there are others out there that have it so much worse than I...and I need to be thankful for what I have and try to give what I can. Also, I work in childrens church as a teacher and do VBS each year, lol.
That is what it is all about. It keeps life in perspective. You are an inspiration. Keep up the 'good works'.0 -
You guys absolutely amaze me!!! Kudos to all of you!! I wish I had time to volunteer more then I do. I always feel so horrible because all I am ever able to give is money and I know it helps but sometimes an extra pair of hands or a shoulder to cry on is worth more then thousands of dollars. I hope to retire early so that I can spend the biggest part of my days doing some sort of volunteer work!!!0
-
I recently stopped my volunteer positions because I'm almost done with school and needed the extra time to kick butt on my grades.
I was a receptionist in my church, I worked with the media department at my church as well. We broadcast live on the net every Sunday, so that was a really cool experience to be behind the scenes. Plus, I ran a small group ministry for Vegans and other health and eco-topics.
Now that I'm almost done with school, I'm looking to volunteer at a hospital. I'm going to do that more for the experience than for the charity because it will help me get experience in the medical feid, which is what I'm in school for anyway.
But I'm also looking forward to getting my Vegan group back up and running. I'm going to do it independently this time, not through my church. I'm planning to get the group involved in community gardening and brining fresh foods to peole in need, rather than canned and boxed goods. Plus I'd like to tackle some animal rights stuff and political stuff that I was limited with when I was running a church group.
I'm also an esthetician. I'd love to offer skincare services to women in shelters. I'd also like to go into local back to work programs and help people prepare for interviews by teaching them to find good clothes at closets or thrift stores. Plus teaching basic makeup and stuff would be really fun and probably de-stressing for people who are out of work. (I know, I've been out of work for a while and I wish someone would give me a free makeover. Thats why I want to do it, if I would like it, someone else must like it too.)
I'm almost done with school, and all of that is going to happen asap!
Great thread! Thanks.0
This discussion has been closed.
Categories
- All Categories
- 1.4M Health, Wellness and Goals
- 393.6K Introduce Yourself
- 43.8K Getting Started
- 260.3K Health and Weight Loss
- 175.9K Food and Nutrition
- 47.5K Recipes
- 232.5K Fitness and Exercise
- 431 Sleep, Mindfulness and Overall Wellness
- 6.5K Goal: Maintaining Weight
- 8.6K Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
- 153K Motivation and Support
- 8K Challenges
- 1.3K Debate Club
- 96.3K Chit-Chat
- 2.5K Fun and Games
- 3.8K MyFitnessPal Information
- 24 News and Announcements
- 1.1K Feature Suggestions and Ideas
- 2.6K MyFitnessPal Tech Support Questions