Sophia Posted October 1, 2009 Share Posted October 1, 2009 I relocated at the end of July for a year and am taking a few classes at the U here. Since the end of July, well, actually, since even before I moved, I've been trying to find a place where I could volunteer a few hours a week. I've contacted a number of agencies--basically all the agencies which serve the homeless except for the one that said on their website that basically if one wasn't a "holy roller," one need not apply. Most never got back to me...how hard is it to shoot back an e-mail? One finally contacted me after a month, basically they just want clerical help, and their office is about eight miles away in a part of town with crappy bus service--I can't see well and don't drive. In early August, I met with a woman who works with a lot of ESL students at the local community college; she sounded all excited, but I never heard back from her. Granted, she may have lost my e-addy, but her office is only about forty steps from that of the administrator there who's a friend of mine and had asked her if she needed any help...if she did want my help, she could ask her for my addy again. I don't really want to contact her again because if she doesn't want my help but feels pressured because of my friend...well...I don't want to be in that situation. At the U's tutoring center, they only want people they can employ through "work study." It's not that I lack skills. While I haven't been looking for work, I've been offered three jobs in town, but with the pay scale here, working part time would net me about the same money that I'd make selling plasma, and I am getting a good pay check from my job (I'm on sabbatical) and don't want to take a job away from someone who really needs one. I've looked on Craigslist most days. Most of the postings under volunteers are for people to take part in medical experiments, no thanks. Others are one time things; some are just plain dangerous (no, I don't think I really want to serve as a victim's volunteer bodyguard in a town where the "macho" culture is alive and well--one of the paramedics in town told me that it gave him a lot of job security). That no one will even return a call or an e-mail makes me feel like I should go to the post office and see if I'm on the "10 Most Wanted" list. Hell, one of the meal sites for homeless actually indicated that they wanted people who were sentenced to do community service...maybe it would be better if I was "wanted" in more ways than one. Anyway, I'll shut up. I'm just frustrated. Why should it be so hard to give my time away? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
olga Posted October 1, 2009 Share Posted October 1, 2009 I've worked for non-profits, and I can tell you that e-mail addresses get lost. I would call a second time to any agency that you think you would enjoy helping. It's very possible that your address got lost in the shuffle. I volunteer at our library, and one day a woman filled out a slip to become a volunteer. The librarian lost it, which isn't hard to do with all the paper floating around the office. She searched for it frantically, we all looked, but it never turned up. If that potential volunteer didn't call back to find out what is going on, we lost her forever. Please call the place where you want to volunteer. It is quite possible that your name was misplaced. olga Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kablume Posted October 1, 2009 Share Posted October 1, 2009 Have you tried your local hospitals? Don't know if that may be of interest to you. I volunteer doing patient transport 4 hrs a week. There are many positions available and they love volunteers! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
withing Posted October 1, 2009 Share Posted October 1, 2009 It hasn't really been that long, and those places are busy. They're not ignoring you personally. I think it would be better for *you* to call *them* back and remind them that you're still available. I mean, usually if a place needs volunteers it's because everyone there is under a huge workload and there isn't enough to do in a day. Someone might have been meaning to give you a call and simply hasn't had the chance. Give them a break and call them at least one more time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oda156O Posted October 2, 2009 Share Posted October 2, 2009 Have you tried your local hospitals? Don't know if that may be of interest to you. I volunteer doing patient transport 4 hrs a week. There are many positions available and they love volunteers! Should definitely find something in a hospital. They are busy there so maybe calling again will not be such a bad idea Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Vapourware Posted October 3, 2009 Share Posted October 3, 2009 When I was volunteering, I found that most places only had a few volunteers working there and there was always too many things for them to do for them to follow up on all the calls they were receiving. I found the best thing to do was to either give them a call personally and ask directly if they still needed help and let them know your availability times, or if it's convenient, to drop in and say hello. The latter's always appreciated by the staff because it means you are interested in volunteering for them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluelikejazz Posted October 3, 2009 Share Posted October 3, 2009 I've led some volunteer teams and one of the most challenging things is being organized enough to delegate tasks. Maybe if you go and visit the organizations you could chat to other volunteers; who will know what needs to be done and who the best person for you to approach is. It's not always the official coordinator. It's great that you want to volunteer, don't give up just yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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