Volunteering is a great way to be useful in our communities, and some experiences impact us in unexpected ways. These volunteers made quite the impression and some were even left beautifully scarred. Here are 12 volunteering experiences that will make you want to do better.<\/p>\n
I worked at a zoo, and twice a year, I was in charge of handling any volunteers that we had.
\nOne time, a young man came to volunteer.
\nHe was tasked with mostly cleaning around the walkways of the zoo. He was terrible at it.<\/p>\n
He would move on to another task without completing the previous one, and I\u2019d be left to do my job and his.
\nAt the end of the week, I called him in to ask him how he was feeling about the job. He went on a tangent about how he hated being here and how he didn\u2019t even like animals.<\/p>\n
When I could finally get a breath in, I looked at him and said, \u201cYou know you can leave, right? You don\u2019t have to be here.\u201d
\nHe looked at me like I was telling him that his entire life had been a lie. He immediately got up and walked out.<\/p>\n
I never saw him again.<\/p>\n
I\u2019m on a team that goes out to help people that have had disasters (mostly house fires). Recently, we got a call at 10 pm for some persons that requested help, we drove 2+ hours on a Sunday night to meet them.
\nI was grumbling about it, but then you meet a couple in their late 60s whose trailer burned to the ground.
\nThey lost it all. We showed up, got them in the system, got them a debit card with a few hundred dollars on it, and sent them on their way.
\nSince they\u2019re in the system, others will follow up with them and help them.<\/p>\n
If we didn\u2019t make that drive, they\u2019d have spent the night in a cold car. It\u2019s my small contribution to the world, but I feel good about it.<\/p>\n
I spent a few years volunteering on a mental health helpline, and yeah, the florid calls are super intense.
\nWe would focus on validating feelings (fear, sadness, anger, etc) without validating experiences (Uncle Ricky, Sasquatch, etc) while trying to make an agreement that they would talk with someone in their life about their worries, preferably a medical professional.
\nYou\u2019re never going to be able to sort out truth from delusion in a single call, so there\u2019s no point in trying to build rapport and linking to support as the goals.<\/p>\n
I\u2019ve volunteered with rescued animals, and I\u2019ve volunteered with sick kids.
\nI wouldn\u2019t be me without these experiences. I lost a family member to cancer when I was in my late teens. I had been severely depressed for years before, and my family members\u2019 deaths made me force myself to live.<\/p>\n
I did it for my family. I felt like nothing was important, but I wanted to do something that felt important, like doing something for people who are going through something similar. When my family member got sick, I realized how small gestures of kindness or just a little smile from people did SO much for me when my life was in pieces.<\/p>\n
This is something that I always think about; the smallest thing can make a person\u2019s day feel a tiny bit easier to get through.<\/p>\n
I went to help an elderly woman whose apartment was a complete mess. While tidying the bedroom, I stumbled upon a ring with the engraving \u201cTo my dear wife.\u201d I handed it to her, but she said, \u201cMy husband never gave me jewelry.\u201d
\nShe paused, her face turning pale, and whispered, \u201cBut he had another wife long before me\u2014someone he never spoke about.\u201d The realization hit us both; this ring belonged to a forgotten past, hidden away for years.
\nThe woman sighed and said, \u201cMaybe it\u2019s best we leave this lost.\u201d<\/p>\n
No One Dies Alone \u2013 As the name suggests, my team and I are notified when a patient is nearing the final hours of their life and does not have any family members present. We rotate in shifts of 3 hours 24\/7, to ensure that the patient doesn\u2019t die alone.
\nA lot of the time, we are able to be there, but quite too often, the patient passes away at odd hours, like 3 am, when none of us can be there.
\nWe sit with the patient, read, pray, or do anything to provide them company when they take their final breath. This can be extremely heavy, and as someone who has lost a relative without anyone by their side, I love this.<\/p>\n
I volunteered with Girl Scouts for more than a year, specifically to build community and because I believed in the mission.
\nAnd it was a miserable experience. I would NEVER say, however, \u201cDon\u2019t join the Girl Scouts.\u201d
\nThe point is that, as we used to say, \u201cYour Mileage May Vary\u201d (YMMV). I think the key to finding a fulfilling volunteer experience is to keep trying with different groups.<\/p>\n
Don\u2019t expect it to be perfect and wonderful from day one; give it time\u2026and when you realize it\u2019s not for you, move on. Kind of like dating.<\/p>\n
I was delivering meals to elderly people, and one of them was this grumpy old man who never greeted me or said thank you.
\nBut one day he opened his door, looking extremely nervous, and whispered, \u201cDid anybody follow you?\u201d
\nConfused, I turned to glance back at my car and gasped. In the back seat, I saw a scruffy dog cheerfully eating the remaining meals. Apparently, it had jumped into my open car window.<\/p>\n
The old man sighed deeply, saying, \u201cThat dog\u2019s been stealing from everyone on this street all week!\u201d<\/p>\n
I teach painting classes at various retirement communities. Sometimes memory care and assisted living. It is free, I bring all the supplies.
\nEach class is about an hour, one day per week, over a 4-week period. Most people have never tried to paint or say they can only do stick people, but I am ALWAYS amazed at their talent!
\nI actually have students who used to paint.<\/p>\n
They still have an eye for color, and I ask them if they would like help with using a brush. I hold it steady, and they choose the color and move the brush. They just love it!<\/p>\n
I am an impressionistic painter, not a realistic one.
\nHere\u2019s one:<\/p>\n
My bucket list had \u201cGoing to Culinary School\u201d on it. Just because I always wanted to, not to make a 2nd career out of it.
\nAfter that, I was a cook\/chef in a homeless shelter for 5 years.
\nBy far, it is one of the most rewarding things I have ever done. Got to the point where I was running the kitchen myself.<\/p>\n
I\u2019d probably do it again, but I fear age is catching up with me, and I just can no longer go at such a high pace for that long.<\/p>\n
Food insecurity is a really important cause for me, and I have volunteered at a store where people can come shop for food for no charge. So, you\u2019re directly interacting with the people you\u2019re helping.
\nI also volunteer for an organization that prepares and packages meals for the homeless. In that case, you\u2019re one step removed from the ultimate beneficiaries of your efforts. But I\u2019ve found both of those experiences equally rewarding.<\/p>\n
The folks running these organizations are very appreciative of my time, and I think that makes a difference.<\/p>\n
My wife and I volunteer at two food banks, a charity dining hall, and an NGO that provides services for the homeless and working poor. We\u2019ve been going to the food banks for 3\u20134 years and the NGO for almost 3.
\nWe\u2019ve become friends with a number of volunteers and even a few of the clients. We do group things with the volunteers, such as bowling, going to the movies, etc.
\nWe\u2019ve also hired some clients to do odd jobs around our house.<\/p>\n
The biggest plus is we\u2019ve gotten our grandkids into volunteering! During school breaks and summer vacation, we\u2019ll have 2-4 of them stay with us to go volunteer. We\u2019re truly blessed.<\/p>\n
While some make a difference in their communities, you can make a difference in your own life and someone else\u2019s by learning these life-saving tips.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Volunteering is a great way to be useful in our communities, and some experiences impact us in unexpected ways. These volunteers made quite the impression and some were even left beautifully scarred. Here are 12 volunteering experiences that will make you want to do better. I worked at a zoo, and twice a year, I […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":21516,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-21515","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-tales"],"yoast_head":"\n