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Has anyone here ever done Volunteer work?

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Blitty

Blitty

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One of the guys on my new hockey team, was telling me that he was gonna volunteer to coach inner-city youths in ice hockey. The program is called Ice Hockey In Harlem. I am considering to become involved. It seems like a good cause...


Does anyone else have any stories about Volunteering? What are the pros and cons of doing something like this?






http://www.icehockeyinharlem.org/volunteer/
 
Volunteering is great IMO. I have been doing it for the better part of 20 years in various stuff relating to addictions. Also I played music at an old folks home for years.

It runs in my family. My mom has been volunteering going back to my earliest memories when she was the director of the majorettes and drum corps in the town I grew up in. She did that for years and years. She volunteered for a humane society for about a decade. My dad has done stuff with Big Brothers and The Salvation Army and he teaches bridge to kids at a local school.

I even remember my grandmother volunteering at a school for mentally retarded kids in the late 60's and early 70's.

It is good win-win stuff. Hopefully you help someone and I find it personally rewarding.
 
Mudcat
Volunteering is great IMO. I have been doing it for the better part of 20 years in various stuff relating to addictions. Also I played music at an old folks home for years.

It runs in my family. My mom has been volunteering going back to my earliest memories when she was the director of the majorettes and drum corps in the town I grew up in. She did that for years and years. She volunteered for a humane society for about a decade. My dad has done stuff with Big Brothers and The Salvation Army and he teaches bridge to kids at a local school.

I even remember my grandmother volunteering at a school for mentally retarded kids in the late 60's and early 70's.

It is good win-win stuff. Hopefully you help someone and I find it personally rewarding.
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So Muddy when you say it is personally rewarding, Does that mean that it is selfish in a good way?

Have you and your family done this so much, because you get bored and don't know what to do with your spare time? I personally don't have any friends that do this kind of stuff. I am interested in starting a trend though. Would it be useful to put on a resume in the future? I'm guessing it might also help me out in gaining a job as a hockey coach one day, if I decide to go that route.
 
Does court-ordered community service count? :grin:

I did volunteer at the SPCA once. On my first day a giant freaking dog went ballistic and got out of its collar as I was walking it, started chasing a cat down the hallway and knocked over a man on the way.

That was also my last day volunteering (voluntarily).
 
Bread
Does court-ordered community service count? :grin:

I did volunteer at the SPCA once. On my first day a giant freaking dog went ballistic and got out of its collar as I was walking it, started chasing a cat down the hallway and knocked over a man on the way.

That was also my last day volunteering (voluntarily).
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The system got to ya

unfortunate
 
I had to for a class in school once, and I didn't even consider it volunteering since it was just working at a collegiate sporting event.

But other than that, no I've never volunteered and don't really have an interest in doing so. Fiveteamer sums up my thoughts perfectly.
 
sounds like a good idea. I should look into something like this. Like seeing new/young people getting into hockey. Especially when they show some respect.
It's fun to see how much people enjoy playing when they first get into it.
 
Blitty
One of the guys on my new hockey team, was telling me that he was gonna volunteer to coach inner-city youths in ice hockey. The program is called Ice Hockey In Harlem. I am considering to become involved. It seems like a good cause...


Does anyone else have any stories about Volunteering? What are the pros and cons of doing something like this?
Click to expand...

GREAT!!! The poor kids in Harlem will be learning to play hockey with a stick that is way too long for them. No wonder why Canada kicks the shit out of the U.S. the majority of the time.

Ron Wilson and BB would be so proud of you Blitty.
 
Blitty, I honestly think that volunteering is a very good thing. I'm not too sure if you should be volunteering hockey though. Why not the food bank or a soup kitchen? Ever buy a homeless person a sandwich? Try it.

BTW....did you cut your stick yet?
 
Blitty
So Muddy when you say it is personally rewarding, Does that mean that it is selfish in a good way?

Have you and your family done this so much, because you get bored and don't know what to do with your spare time? I personally don't have any friends that do this kind of stuff. I am interested in starting a trend though. Would it be useful to put on a resume in the future? I'm guessing it might also help me out in gaining a job as a hockey coach one day, if I decide to go that route.
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Yes there is a definite selfish angle to it, hopefully in a good way. In the case of addictions work, when my experience can help someone change their life and maybe they have kids who I can see are going to be better off and I have contributed to that, it is a good feeling for me. I feel useful and fulfilled. I like that feeling.

There were large chunks of my life when I was not useful and my life didn't feel particularly meaningful. I am happier when that is not the case.



Those sorts of spiritual considerations aside, I would think it probably is a very good thing to have on a resume. And there can be other practical benefits. The thing I did with playing music at the retirement home motivated me into a bunch of other stuff I did around music in the 90's. Coaching kids on a volunteer basis could definitely be a stepping-stone to other coaching roles you are interested in.



I'm not sure how all my family members got into the various stuff. Maybe boredom did play a role. My mother was a stay-at-home mom when she got into majorettes 40 years ago. My grandmother probably got into her stuff through her church. My dad got much more active volunteering after he retired and had time to fill. In my case, it had a lot to do with peer pressure. When I got clean and sober and started going to meetings in 1990, some people really push you to do service and start giving back. I'm glad they did.
 
Blitty, its funny you mention it, I was just talking to someone who volunteers with a similar hockey program in Boston and signed up.

I will admit I have mostly selfish reasons for doing it. I have done volunteering before and you can feel some self worth for helping others. It can also be frustrating, lots a red tape, and you sometimes wonder if you have made any difference.

My reasons for doing the hockey one, are I just bought new skates and need to break them in, networking, resume builder, and as corny as it sounds i feel i want to make a difference, or matter.

My life is good, but part of me wonders what else is out there. I think volunteering puts one in a place outside of their comfort level, and one can get greater awareness or self discovery.

Also, hockey is one hell of an expensive sport, and I feel fortunate that my parents were somehow able to afford it while I was growing up, and I would like to help other get the same enjoyment out of it, that I did.
 
Wow Tully. You really sum up my thought process for the whole thing with your post. It is very hard to see myself doing something like that, which is kind of a motivator in making me want to try it out.

I called in to find out more info. I will have send in an application, then I have to go to a 7 hour class in NJ, to get my level 1 certification for coaching beforehand. The lady asked if I had a preference with what age group of kids to work with. I said 'not really', and she was like 'Oh great that way we can just stick you somewhere'. I'm thinking I would prob. rather teach older kids than younger, but I don't know....What do you recommend?
 
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