My New Volunteer Gig(s)

Long time readers know that I made the difficult decision to give up a volunteer gig that was close to my heart in the past year. After years of volunteering one or two days a week at a long term transitional shelter for women (most of whom were boomers or seniors), some changes came up in my life. I ended up sharing a car with my son for some time (whose work and college commutes generally took priority). It was a half an hour drive on a good day, and it was from early in the morning to noon. There were also other lifestyle issues that stopped me from being able to volunteer with these women, not the least of which is that while my health has not degenerated, my legs have very bad days when  city driving is painful (road tips not so much because all that stopping and starting is eliminated and I can cruise).

I slogged along for awhile, not wanting to leave the wonderful caseworker out in the proverbial cold (since there was only one staff person at a time, the only time she could do things like one on one counseling or other things that required her leaving her office was when I was there to cover). Courtney was blessed with a promotion, and the new person in her place doesn't have the same needs for staff (there are still other people helping). This enabled me to transition out-with little guilt!

Then, of course, I had to decide where to move on in terms of volunteering (not volunteering was never an option. I'm one of those obnoxious people who believes if you want a better world you should be doing something about it-and not just voting. Yes, even in retirement. Left wing hippy chick that I am, in the end I believe it's still up to people to make the difference, not just government).

I was looking for something closer to home, that would have intensive times and less intensive times. I was also looking to move into advocacy. Perhaps even do both. And I have been searching for ways to  use my talents and materials  while I was nesting at home. I don't know if it was the Lord providing, but all of those options have appeared on my plate.

My church has recently become involved with something called Family Promise. This is a support service for working families who are homeless. Families spend a week at our church, four or five times a year. They are housed in those rooms that would normally be used for things like Sunday school and meetings. The church (in this case our church), provides family style meals where we eat with our guests at dinner and breakfast. We transport them to a center in the morning and pick them up at night. We assist with child care and on the weekends, offer families a program of some sort and invite them into church. The hosting church changes on a weekly basis. There are a variety of jobs to be done in relation to this hosting thing-people staying over night and being on call, cooking the meals and spending time with the guests, transporting to and fro with a van, and many more things.

Considering my two year volunteer gig that I previous did at another church (cooking weekly for a program), I volunteered to be the organizer of the food. This gig is perfect for me in that I am not actually cooking myself as a rule (although I am usually there every evening to assist the cooks and servers and to sit down and spend time with the families), lots of the organization can be done from home, it's a five time a year things, and it's a mile from my house. It's also helpful, that like my transitional shelter, this program has a high success rate-or as high a success rate as you can in a town where wages are stagnant and the cost of living in terms of housing is exorbitant!  

And so I found a new niche in terms of out of the house volunteering. And, in a bit of serendipity (and with some time spent on Pinterest and Utube), I've found at least two charitable ways that I can be at home, crafting and watching TV while still doing "good". I've begun making hand warmers, lap blankets and knitted shawls for homeless and low income elderly folks. I've also (with apologies to the male readers with sensitivities) begun making cloth sanitary pads out of recycled clothing and scraps-to be sent to girls in mainly "third world areas", who miss school because of norms and fear of blood or because of lack of basic supplies and knowledge of how to use them. This is probably worth it's own discussion......

With these new "gigs" or projects, I've actually decreased the amount of time that I weekly spend on so called volunteerism, which in some weird way makes me feel guilty, even though I know we all need to find the level at which we can help others and manage our own lives. But the lack of commute, the increased time at home, and the ability to work all this around my energy level, travels and other things makes it work for me.

At least for now!!