Soberpotamus

About a month into my recovery program I went to a local women's shelter and signed up to become a volunteer. They gave me a long application to fill out, so I did, turned it in, and now I've just heard back from them via email! Looks like I'm one of ten people who will be starting training on August 1st!

So I wanted to make a thread about volunteering... would love to hear from others who've volunteered while in recovery. I know a few of you have, I've seen you recommend it to newcomers. Would like to hear any feedback, suggestions, tips and things on how it went for you, how it helped you in recovery to help others... getting out of your own head, etc... all the benefits. And any sort of advice you may have. Thanks!

AugustWest11

That's great Jennie I am so not a people person & would get to emotional w\ animals so that route might be out for me at least lol

Soberpotamus

Same here with animals!! I tried volunteering at a local animal shelter a few years ago... I couldn't bring myself to go back again! I have four cats... and it just broke my heart to see all the cats there. I know someone has to care for them... but I couldn't deal with it at that point in time. Maybe one day.

bigsombrero

Very cool! I volunteered in Guatemala for a while, it was somewhat satisfactory but the political side of me got in the way of completely enjoying it. Did it make me "appreciate all that I have"? No. Did it make me "realize the rest of the world has it harder than me"? No. All in all, it was something to do, something to focus on, and I have no complaints.

You seem to be eager to contribute and get "out there" in just about any way you can, and I think this will be a great outlet for you. As with anything, keep your expectations reasonable, but I think you are pretty well-adjusted and already know that. Enjoy and I hope to hear some details in the future about how this works out! Congrats!

AugustWest11

Yea the animal thing would way get to me more then people unless it was children; I do love kids and they seem to like me ... But ehh too emotional myself But Big Ups to you I got 2 1 Mr I'm too good for people doesn't like to be picked up and only petted on his terms :p But my other one LOVES me to death and has helped me this last month ..

tootsl1

Well done Jennie! Alcohol can make us so egocentric, all we care about is where we will get our next drink, our families and friendships suffer, and we become very insular. It is really good to do volunteer work, as it reminds us that others are worse off than ourselves, we can learn about how others became the person they did, and what paths they chose. I love listening to other people talking about their lives, especially those who have suffered hardship, as there is often so much resilience and wisdom there.
I have done volunteer work off and on through my life, I'm not at the moment, too many family obligations, but I know from having read your posts that you will be excellent and a real boon. Most folk just want a smile and a listening ear.

Soberpotamus

Do I? I'm a veritable recluse. Haha. This is me really trying hard to put myself out there, tbh I'm quite the stay-at-home comfortable in my own element type except for when we travel... I do love to travel to new places, oddly enough. Guess it's a sort of all-or-nothing tendency. I'm either holed up in my house... or wanting to travel to a totally new place I've never been before.

I guess I've just never been one to "give back" in my own community. This is all new for me. I feel out of my element really.

hypochondriac

I'm at the same stage as you Jennie, just waiting to start training, though I am volunteering at a local addiction centre. I'm really looking forward to getting started x

bigsombrero

Traveling was the perfect answer for me. Maybe that is something you should try - ya know, actually do it?

I had also applied at a local animal shelter before I decided to travel for a few months. It seemed okay, but it was located in Chicago. I would take the same blue line train to get there every day that I'd taken for the past 10 years. I would see nothing new, except of course a bunch of brow-beaten puppies and kitties. I much preferred waking up every morning and looking out my window to see the morning smoke plumes coming from an active volcano. Did the trick.

And it didn't just scratch the itch...it opened the door to a whole new lifestyle and new opportunities. You have mentioned your desire to travel many times on here. It doesn't have to be very expensive and is not as difficult as one might imagine. Perhaps you should look into it sometime. I am biased, but I think you would be a natural once you got your feet wet.

Soberpotamus

Oh I have. Been out of the country three times. Plan to do it again! Love it!!!

I actually travelled across Mexico once, alone. Lol. I'm nuts.

iwh

i suppose much of it will be in 'how' you volunteer. your attitude while doing so. simply volunteering at a volunteer place is a start, but it's the personal how you are doing it will go a long way.

Carlotta

I volunteer at the local food bank. What volunteering did for me aside from making new friends etc. is that it taught me to accept people and meet them where they are at.I volunteer to get a job done, I am no "lady bountiful" and I don't patronize people in that sweet honeyed kind of way I have seen some people do. I try to view it as: "there is a need, I m available and can help, let s get the job done".

Soberpotamus

Thanks Carlotta Good advice. I like that. I bet that's the attitude I'll probably have too... practical, no-nonsense... let's get the job done.

cascademn

Hey Jennie, thanks for bringing up this critical topic. Every month some friends and I play classical guitar at different nursing home/hospice residences. This has been a lot of fun and really knocks us out of "me" mode. The feedback we've gotten is really positive, with the exception of that we need to learn some Elvis tunes. lol. As for volunteering with animals, I did that quite extensively a couple of years ago. It took a long time to get over the "bring them all home" syndrome, but I got there. I had to focus on the mission at hand which was to get the dogs and cats adopted as soon as possible. Again, it was tough. Congrats to you, Jennie, and all the others here that have stepped outside of themselves to help others. I think it is so vital to our recoveries. Being here to welcome newcomers and give support to those who are hurting is vital also. A great place to start.
Cheers,
cas

bigsombrero

RIGHT ON. And this is what bugged me in Guatemala. A lot of relatively well-off Americans and their church groups would come down and hand out shoes to people and act like they were Jesus Christ himself. If they'd taken the time to do a little research, they'd know that most people in Guatemala without shoes come from cultures where shoes simply aren't worn! It's like handing out bug spray to those poor Eskimos who don't have any. Duh.

Carlotta's post highlights something every volunteer (or someone thinking about it) should know. Kudos!

Soberpotamus

I'd love to volunteer at an addiction center. I actually looked for that type of volunteer job but just couldn't find it. Hey, we'll have to keep up with one another's volunteering experiences and compare notes

Soberpotamus

That reminds me, we used to sing in a choir (middle school) for nursing homes. I did that for three years... ages 12-14. Loved it They really enjoyed it too.

Good point about the animal shelter volunteering... I'd like to be able to do it again. At least to go and pet them, feed them, groom, etc. So heart-wrenching to me. But I can see what you're saying about it... eventually I might get past that if I focus on the task that needs to be done. There is a pets for homeless people charity that I came across once... they help provide food for homeless peoples pets. I'm thinking I could handle that, cause I don't think they are actually around the pets... they just hook them up with food.

iwh

yeah, carlotta's approach is very conditioned and popular, but take a step back and consider the act of volunteering is what i was asking because i discussed somethings with you that aren't all about hammering out the job.

i also like the range of responses from that to kicking up you feet and traveling. i share these attitudes as well at times.

it's within, you know this, recluse.

Soberpotamus

So we were discussing meditation ideas... how would you bring meditation and insight meditation into a volunteering type situation... like, a state of mind or whatever...

iwh

mindfully & fully, but i am no expert in that. things mindfully & fully change when you do it like that though.

i apologize for being brief & vague, but it's for the best right now.