Post by litskispeciality on Feb 5, 2024 11:18:22 GMT -5
Sadly I think this won't happen until retirement at this point, but I'd love to volunteer to usher plays to get the free tickets. I have a family friend worked PT at the Kennedy Center in DC and got hooked up with a lot of tickets. One of the Community Colleges I worked for also had a 500 seat theatre and had several ways to volunteer pre-show for free tickets. Worked out well for everyone
Post by EvieEthelGarland on Feb 5, 2024 11:27:22 GMT -5
I play pub trivia once a week.
Our whole daycare crew got into our town's 100+ year old community club when the kids were little. Monthly potlucks and quarterly social events in a rundown social hall. H and a few of our friends got on the board and the hall is now remodeled thanks to grant money and is now mostly self sustaining with party rentals. Regular events has dropped off since COVID so we need to get regular things going again if we want it to continue.
I'm in my neighborhood women's social group and the bookclub affiliated with it. I usually make it quarterly to one of the social things (they do stuff monthly) and do attempt to make all the book club events.
Pre-COVID, I was in a local Democratic group. I didn't like the transition to Zoom and have not made it back now that it's in person.
Everything else pertains to work or my kids. My oldest graduates this year so I won't have her games, etc going forward. I hope that gives me the chance to branch out a bit more. I WAH so I * need * to get out and socialize.
Post by midwestmama on Feb 5, 2024 14:42:58 GMT -5
Generally, I am too busy with work and kids sports/activities. From time-to-time, I participate in a book study/club with a group of ladies from my church. That's about all I can manage at this point in my life. Maybe once they are graduated from HS/in college, I will find a club to join or place to volunteer.
Dutch club (expats, immigrants, heritage -- mostly social events and I am just a member so do not organize anything) Hiking group (organizational level) Feminist Birders of [city] (regular member) Clean Energy [city] (citizen advocacy group -- active member who testifies at city council) Sustainable neighborhood network (organizational level) [City] Advisory Commission (advises city council) 12 step program for family and friends (and the cruise committee of said 12 step program) A learning community on campus about empowering communities of color
I was excited to chime in with all my commitments until you said "not related to your children."
I somewhat regularly attend the local dental society meetings. I've had to be a bit irregular last year and this year because it follows the school calendar and meets at the same time as a kid school-centric board meeting that I also hav to attend. I used to attend a lot of professional meetings locally and with travel pre-kids and even tried to keep up when I just had DD. Since I had to way cut back on all of that, I'd like to start a little local study club but see above about the too many kid commitments.
I'm going to step back on one of the kid commitments for the upcoming year so maybe I could at least plan the study club.
Ooh, I forgot because I'm not active right now, but I'm a member of my county's medical reserve corps. I joined in 2021 when they needed volunteers to help staff covid vaccine PODs. For a while in spring 2021 I was working at a POD every week, then it slowed, and then I jumped back into it in fall when the pediatric PODs opened up.
Obviously we aren't hosting many covid vaccine PODs anymore, but I still get emails about a whole range of opportunities. There are vaccine PODs for flu, mpox, measles, and others, disaster readiness training, first aid/CPR certification, and a bunch of other stuff. You don't have to have medical credentials to participate, they train you and there are plenty of roles for non-medical personnel. For example I am not credentialed to be able to administer vaccines, but I was trained to do the data entry into the state vax database. There were 5 or so of us to every vaccinator at each POD, which expedited the vaccinators' jobs.
If I had more time, I could do a lot more with it.
My plate is full with work and family for the time being. Involvement as an adult has always been volunteering and I'm making a very intentional effort to scale back everything: Junior League, sorority at national and local levels, city commission, various non-profit boards
I need to spend free time with other recreational interests and hobbies as many of you do, lots of good ideas.
I use to volunteer with an organization that refurbishes bikes for kids. But I didn’t make it this season.
My fencing is technically a club. But probably more like the 80s use of “racket club”. In that you have to pay a membership to use the facilities. But it’s also quite social. I had plans to find a book club of language club, but fencing is like 3 days a week and that’s all I feel I have time for.
Post by MixedBerryJam on Feb 5, 2024 16:25:55 GMT -5
Having time to volunteer is the best part of being retired! I’m on a local (think county level) Democratic club steering committee, getting speakers and organizing meetings and whatnot, but that’s probably not much more than an hour or two a week. Most of the rest of my volunteering is related to my church: I lead the committee that helps people through emergencies (meals, rides, checking in, that sort of thing) but strictly the layperson side of things. That tops out at maybe 10 hours per week. I could probably do more, time wise, but it also takes a pretty heavy emotion toll on us, so I try not to burn out. I’m still getting used to how different UUs are from Roman Catholics. I don’t think I ever saw a priest get applause for his sermon and as a group we are profligate with the applause in services. I miss volunteering at my husbands cancer clinic, but I moved 500 miles away. That easily could have been a full time gig. Oh also I knit baby blankets like a mofo. I had been doing that for church but we have more blankets than babies at this point so I just bring them to goodwill or a nearby shelter.
I was a member of the Junior League until I started grad school (I'm still a member but as a sustainer). I'm also a member of my local modern quilting guild and a couple of other fiber artist guilds.