I am a big proponent of volunteering - the world would run so much smoother if more people got off their butts and did just one thing for someone else. That said, I am not a very good volunteer. I have friends who are - they build houses for Habitat for Humanity or spend hours at Austin Pet's Alive. I have just never been able to commit that much time to one organization ( this could also explain why I am still single).
Now don't get me wrong - I do volunteer. Quite a bit actually. I am the Philanthropy Director for the Central Texas Parrot Head Club ( yes we do more than drink and party). I like to call Parrot Heads "philanthropists with a party problem". We do one activity a month, currently we help at Hope Alliance, Capital Area Food Bank and the Keep Austin Beautiful (KAB) street clean up.
On my own I am not quite so altruistic. When I volunteer I am usually getting something out of it for myself. Because of my current non employment status I can't afford to do most the things I used to. Then I discovered that if you volunteer at these events you get in for FREE! Not only that, they often FEED you. Yup. 90% of the time the volunteer gigs are pretty sweet. I've done a marathon, a 10K , festivals and home tours ( I LOVE LOVE home tours). The home tour events are some of the best - 4 hrs of your time and you not only get to do the tour free but there is usually a cocktail thank you reception for the volunteers ( yeah you heard right - booze & food!) When I volunteered at the Cool Home Tour they bought us all dinner at Shady Grove. I especially love volunteering at Independence Brewery 1st Saturdays - can you say free beer! Oh and the folks there are real nice too.
I've only had one bad experience so far. I was doing one of the home tours ( I won't name which one) - I thought, like other tours I'd volunteered at, they'd sit me in the shade/porch of one of the homes and probably with a co-volunteer . Nope. Wrong. I was at the end of the driveway, by myself in the sun ( and damn it was hot!) and no shade! About an hour and a half later one of the realtors finally drove down a golf cart so I'd have something to cover me. And to top it off I was unable to do the tour and there was no thank you happy hour - I got bupkus, zilch, nada! I'll be thinking twice before I volunteer for them again.
My recommendations for volunteering are: 1. Pick an event you would actually want to attend 2. Or an organization you believe in 3. Work hard and smile - Yes volunteering usually means you are going to have to work (regardless of the freebies). If it's not for you don't go back, but for heavens sake don't whine or complain while you're there
I am currently checking my Austin Events Calendar to see if there are any cool events coming up. Do you need packets stuffed, a greeter or someone to check people in? For a beer and cocktail weenies I'm your girl!
No comments:
Post a Comment