It’s been over 20 years ago but I still remember exactly when I determined that volunteering is something that I *do* have time for.
I was working full-time as a hospice nurse, plus on-call hours. I also had two young children, a husband and a home to care for. To say I was busy would be an understatement. I did volunteer in my children’s classrooms by reading to the children once a week but I honestly didn’t think I had time for anything else.
Then one day I was reading our church newsletter and noticed the list of church members who had volunteered to deliver Meals On Wheels the previous month. Most were retired folks who had more time available for such things. But then I saw the name of a busy physician and it hit me. If she could take time out of her busy day to deliver meals, then there was no reason I couldn’t.
In the years since that epiphany I have volunteered my time to various organizations in our community. I continue to deliver Meals On Wheels, and in fact, did so today. I’ve served on boards for several local organizations and am currently the president of the board for our local homeless services organization.
My husband and I have recently started a non-profit which I’ll share more about as soon as our application for 501(c)(3) status has been approved. He is a volunteer firefighter, serves on the board for the fire department and is on a local emergency planning committee. We’ve both been active on church committees over the years although we are currently taking a break from those.
We have both found that our lives are richer for these experiences. The main focus of “Life With Dee” is to encourage us all to create a beautiful life. But that doesn’t apply just to our own, individual lives. The larger goal is to bring love, joy, and beauty into the lives of others and help make our communities better places to live.
There are countless ways to volunteer. It can be something as simple as picking up trash along a roadway or bringing cookies to an elderly neighbor.
“Nobody can do everything, but everyone can do something.”
~author unknown~
Do you volunteer? If so, I’d love to hear what you do. Leave me a comment and share what volunteering means to you.
I don’t do volunteer work on a regular basis, but there are some homeless guys who sleep on the beach not far from the part of it we live by, and we’ll sometimes grab them a drink or something.
I did consider doing regular volunteer work. But I wouldn’t be reliable because of my unpredictable sleeping schedules and health issues. My brother volunteers though… He helps teach other blind people how to use technology like computers and tablets.