Volunteer Stuff!

I know most people contribute monitarily to charities through work, church, or whatever. While that’s worthwhile (and tax deductible), I’d have to say it’s far more rewarding to contribute time in addition to – or rather than – money. It’s far more personal, and you get to see your contributions’ impact as well. The company I work for actually has a “community involvement” department, which is a very savvy move on their part. Great local PR, and it makes it easier for their workforce to get involved. It’s definitely opened up more opportunities for me, as some of the programs have busing from my building and can be done during your lunch hour. Super convenient.

Me? I have always enjoyed working with kids. When I was in 5th grade, I volunteered some of my lunch periods to help out with the kindergarten classes.  From middle school through college I’d tutor my peers and younger students in various subjects (mostly math, science, and latin). When I get the chance, I like doing science demonstrations in front of school science classes (BIG surprise). I’m trying something new this year by being a part of Project Mentor (from Big Brothers, Big Sisters of Columbus and Columbus City schools). You meet one-on-one once a week with an 8th grader. No specific agenda, just talking, playing a game, whatever. Really nothing more than giving a kid someone to chat with who will listen to them. But it’s a lot of fun. I found out that my mentee (Sean) and I ended up with a picture on the middle school website, so I thought I’d put it up in my blog.

Most of what we talk about has to do with stuff we have in common. Video games, anime, and online videos. He’s seen my videos, and he’s told me about some of the animation and art stuff he’s been getting into. I occasionally throw in the odd science topic, of course.

There have been times I’ve considered getting back into tutoring and maybe spend some time with Habitat for Humanity or something like that, but with the new baby, I’m fairly booked at times. Maybe later. For any of you that want to get involved in their community, or just seem to have too much time on their hands, there are tons of organizations out there that would love some extra help. It doesn’t cost anything, but it can be a very rewarding experience.