I volunteered at my daughter's school, starting when she was in kindergarten and all through elementary school. I helped teaching phonics and listening to children read. I also did a
fresh water plants and animals program for the whole school, which was very involved....setting up a pond and bringing all kinds of creatures found in a pond, plants, etc. I was a room mother and also on Western Day, took a horse and gave the children rides. I helped in all of their activities. In 4th grade, I did a program on hybridizing plants, and did a talk on rehabbing, taking a baby owl that I was raising.

Now I volunteer as a wildlife rehabber. It takes all of my free time and I don't have time for very much of anything else. I often wish I had never started. I don't have time to call my soul my own.

I was a La Leche League Leader and District Advisor for years. When my kids were in elementary school we all volunteered as dog walkers and cat petters at the humane society. I've been an activist for animal rights, too.

More recently I hold the volunteer position of Media Officer for a nonprofit poets & writers group. I teach occasional classes at the library, and I've been enjoying my new volunteer job as a gravestone photographer.

Our company encourages employees to give. We, employees, have various volunteer opportunities such as community service, etc.

I also volunteer for local charity organizations that organize various events in the city.

Whatever I can get to and whenever my health permits, I volunteer. Just love being able to help others for a change.

I'm a disabled since a baby and have been using a wheelchair for mobility in the recent years. It has been such a blessing. More people than I can count for had lend me a hand effortlessly. Yes, some were their jobs for doing so but when they went beyond their responsibilities, it touched me. They had taught me and inspired me to give. So now, I want to give back.

I can't give much cash but I sure can make time. Volunteering is such a rewarding feeling. For me, it makes life worthwhile.

DH and I were in the Lions and Lioness Clubs for many years and everything they do requires volunteering for the community. These days I volunteer at the blood donor clinics.

I relentlessly did the PTA mom thing: decorating, putting up and taking down Christmas trees, spaghetti suppers, etc. all the time my kids were growing up. (I also taught for 28 years.) Now, I do the grandma volunteer thing. I've helped with nature and health walks, timer for the mile run, accompanied classes on field trips, etc.

I've also volunteered off and on for many years at the local animal shelter.

I've done displays of books and things that I've collected through the years for the local regional library. It provides color and interest for the library's patrons, showcases books and plus, I get to show off my "stuff"! LOL

My DH and I volunteered for about 20 years for our local area Special Olympics. My friend was a Special Education teacher and we helped her stage the event every year. After that long, we all took a hiatus from that and let some of the younger people do that.

Am still wanting to volunteer at the Family Violence Prevention office but just haven't done it yet.

I volunteer at a no kill animal shelter. I love it.
Donna

through Master Gardeners I do flower bed planting in the spring, and maintenance during the summer at nursing homes.

At the moment, no--but have definitely been keeping my eyes open for opportunities to volunteer once we move to the new home. But for now, living between 2 homes, trying to get one set up, the other ready for sale, handling the finances for this major adventure... is pretty much taking all my waking hours.

And up until last November, I'd been the main caregiver for my mother--guess that's a sort of non-official volunteer position--for the past 12 years. That pretty much left me little time for too much regular volunteering.

But over the years, I and my family have done the school volunteer thing (in a school where there were only about 125 families, EVERY parent was needed). Our family raised a couple of Seeing Eye puppies. We've gotten the names of all the babies/children at the local AIDS hospice and bought them presents and Christmas stockings. We've made Christmas boxes for families we heard about who were having difficult times. I've done presentations to the home ec classes at the local high school (that's one of the activities I'd like to pursue at the new house). We've also contributed our time to: nursing homes, hospitals, animal charities.

Volunteering is so important. And it's always been near the top of the list of the lessons I felt it was important to teach my dd, as well.

I always volunteered at my children's school and now I'm volunteering at my GD's school. I have a Master's in reading, so it's only logical that I help w/ the reading program. I've also volunteered with the Komen Race for the Cure.

When my dd was in grade school I was a room mother. Since then I've taught a few crafts at nursing homes and have read to others at nursing homes. I was in Master Gardeners at one time and did a project for a blind lady. My partner and I made a raised garden for her out of old tires stacked on top of each other. I had to give up MG because of my work schedule. When I was working too much I resorted to giving money instead of time to causes. Now Anna and I are going to a local shelter once a week to help out. I plan to do more volunteer work in the future, but for now I want some me time. It had been so long since I had any of that.

Linda

In a week 1/2 I will be helping at a "welcoming home" for vets returning from Iraq and Afghanistan at work, on one of my days off. Have only volunteered a little bit, once when I was in the Air Force I was an elf for Santas in Blue. We took donated gifts to an indian reservation in AZ. I can't really remember any other time.

I did all the PTA and school things when the kids were in school....Now, our main interest is Meals on Wheels...I help in the kitchen on Mondays and then DH comes and we deliver, I'm in the office a couple of other days a week...We help with on of our no kill cat/kitten rescue organization..I help make meals for new moms at our church and I try to make as many quilts for Project Linus and lapquilts for our Meals on Wheels people...I belong to our local Lioness Club and serve on the board....My DH helps with the bingo for the elderly at the firething else in... Keeps us from hanging on the street corner!

I lost my job a few months ago and haven't found a new one yet, so I have been volunteering between 1 and 4 ties a week for the past few months. It feels so good to make a difference. I volunteer at my church and with an abused/neglected boys group home.

I volunteered to do bake sales at all of my DD's high school football games this year. She is in band and the money we make will go to the band. It'll be fun. I enjoy working with the kids.

Since I lost my job in 2005, I've volunteered once a week at my Town Animal shelter. I walk dogs, and play with the cats.

I am a 1000 plus hour volunteer in our school district. The majority of that time is spent in the art room at my boys elementary, next in the class room of my boys, and lastly teaching Junior Achievement in our School district.
This year however, with needing to work part time, having only one left in elementary and a few other factors...I don't think I'll be hitting the 1000 hour mark. As much as I love helping the kids and teachers! After two years in PTA..I refuse to join another one. I will help when bodies are needed..but the focus in my schools seems to be more about money, and less about what's important to individual kids.

I also have been a volunteer in our Little League organization for over 10 years. That last 5 I have been a board member and am going on season 6.

When the kids were growing up I always volunteered on the Parent Council. I helped out on Pancake Day, and for field trips. I baked all of the cakes for the Fun Night Cake Walk (about 25 cakes) every year, long after the kids were out of that school.
When the were in high school I drove kids from the team to sporting events and continued on their Parent Council. I also volunteered at Roselawn, a local theatre group. I helped my husband coach many teams over the years...with me doing the organizing, the phone calls, etc.

When I had my own home-based design business a few years back I did a lot of volunteering, mostly for our local police department. I helped with officer training exercises, was a terrorist kidnap victim for a SWAT exercise, member of a unruly crowd for riot control training, helped out with sobriety checkpoints and did ink and LiveScan fingerprinting (my favorite thing to do) on a regular basis. Now that I'm a captive employee at a corporation I don't get a chance to help out as much.

I also support women on bedrest with high-risk pregnancies for a non-profit organization called Sidelines.

And being a graphic designer, I get asked to do a number graphics projects for certain causes. Every year I do some work for the handsome Vince Ferragamo, football MVP recipient who was the winning quarterback for the LA Rams at Superbowl XIV. Vince now raises money for the Special Olympics and other causes.

Jodi-