What is your favorite charity or volunteer work?

I am looking to get more involved in some sort of community service in the next few months. Causes I have worked for before include my local library, my college art gallery, American Red Cross, The Children's Hospital, Heifer International, and Saint Jude's Hospital.

I am thinking to start training and doing a few runs and focusing my work mainly on cancer because that is what my father died from. I also prefer to work for local resources and cancer is going to be a problem no matter where I live.

What are your favorite causes? How did you pick them? What opportunities haveyou done and what were the benefits or trials? What are your chairty goals?

That's nice. Charity work is an admirable thing. Props to you! :)

Charity and volunteer work came to my attention through school, mostly. When some CARITAS guys showed up and explained stuff about their work. And since I thought it was probably better than being at home (that was a small reason though, the bigger ones were a bit more complicated and even a little screwed up, I guess), I started volunteering and helping out.

I helped out in a poorhouse, a women's shelter, a old people's home (although to be honest, I wasn't exactly a fan of that), an animal's shelter and also worked in the CARITAS' head office a little. I pretty much found all of those places through fellow CARITAS workers and volunteers.

It was hard sometimes. The gross-out factor was a bit much at first, but I guess I can now say that I can cleam excrements and vomit up with ease. Cleaning (and uh... other things) old people doesn't really bother me anymore either. Some of the dogs in the animal shelter really scared me back then too, but now I'm barely afraid of most dogs anymore. How, to be frank, crazy some of the people in the poorhouse and the women's shelter were also disturbed me a little, but I eventually knew how to deal with that too. Of course, there were also exceptions that surprised me and got to me. There is also the risk of someone physically assaulting me in those places and I have to be really careful too. (particulary in the women's shelter, since quite a few women escaped from their abusive husbands/boyfriends)

But, and I think this is the most important part, I also liked it. It was an interesting experience to listen to the stories of those people's lives (some more screwed up and sadder than most stories in movies and books I've watched and read) and talk to them about it. It gave me a feeling of accomplishment, and when someone genuinely thanked me for something... well, it made me feel happy. There are not many feelings as great as people being genuinely grateful and thanking you from the bottom of their hearts, I think. All the people who spit into my face and slapped me (both sometimes literally), insulted me and made me feel like crap... well, I think even one kind old lady thanking me for my help was worth it all (yeah, that sounds really cliché, I know XD). And even if no one thanked me, I still always had a feeling of accomplishment. That I made a difference, at least a little bit.

I must admit that I lost it a bit in my more uh... eager days. I really neglected my IRL friends, schoolwork and my own health because I couldn't say "No" when my CARITAS contacts called me and asked if I was free and all that. But that was my own fault, not the doing of charity.

So all in all, I think it was worth it. And still is.

Dear God, I've rambled on quiiite a bit, didn't I? XD

EDIT: Huh, I used past tense quite a bit, even where it wasn't necessary. I'm still doing charity work, so dunno why I used the past tense.

edited 16th Jan '13 8:46:52 AM by kay4today

Good call mate. Charity work is a lovely sort of work.

Failed school programs aside, I've helped the WWF with planting trees and organising a few events - if that counts. Hoping to find something better in the future.

I volunteer at a charity shop for a local hospice. Started doing it when I was unemployed and looking for something to do to show that I was, well, looking for something to do, and ended up really enjoying it. I have a job these days but I still volunteer when I can, the people there are good and it brings a little more light into the world, which is the important thing.