Volunteering

With all the devastation happening around our country, this time in Missouri, I've been wondering about all the amazing people who give their time, money and resources to help others when they find themselves in need.

There are so many amazing organizations dedicated to being the helping hand to those hit by circumstances beyond their control. A very FEW examples being the Red Cross, who is always there when disaster strikes, Habitat for Humanity, helping those who need a home to call their own, and countless other smaller groups that just do whatever they can to make others' lives better.

All of that got me to thinking about volunteering my time and energy in whatever small capacity I can. I used to volunteer at the Field Museum as a docent for school children, kindergarten through second grade. That was a lot of fun, and it never ceased to amaze me when I ran into children who had never seen even seen a racoon or possum. I had always taken for granted that we ALL had access to forests and the outdoors, but having met some kids whose idea of wildlife was Chicago rats, my perspective has changed just a little.

I went camping and exploring as a scout, and with my family when I was a kid. It never really cost a whole lot of money. So I was under the impression that anyone could go and do the sames things we did as kids. Until I started volunteering. I guess I just never thought about the fact that some kids never leave the borders of the city and to them wilderness is the lake front or an abandoned lot somewhere. Really made me stop and think how that really gives someone a very narrow view of the world and limits their thinking to their immediate surroundings.

So I have been looking around on the inter webs, learning about all the millions of volunteer opportunities out there. Now all I have to do is narrow it down to one. ;o)

In no particular order:



Sierra Club
http://www.sierraclub.org/outings/national/service.aspx

The Red Cross
http://www.redcross.org/donate/volunteer/

And one of the best resources...
Volunteer Match
http://www.volunteermatch.org/