I think volunteering is such an important thing and everyone who is able to should try! The great thing is that it can literally be anything from picking up trash to tutoring kids to helping and older neighbor. I work for non-profits and am studying human rights, can you tell? Lol.

Right now I teach SAT and college prep skills to underserved high school students through a free program. The progress is tangible, and I love helping younger people discover themselves.

Yay for volunteering! So glad you’re doing this. Girls in the run sounds like a great group.

I did GOTR last semester in Raleigh. It was such an amazing experience and my favorite part was at the end of the year when the parents told me what an impact GOTR had on their daughter’s self-esteem. Every single moment was worth it at that point.

Glad you’re enjoying volunteering! You’re changing those little girls lives!
I start volunteering this weekend at JWU! They do culinary classes for the public and I get to help teach people to cook! I’m excited and it will be great for my resume!

Coaching sounds really fun! I need to find some volunteer work I can do that’s not as consistent. I teach kindergarten so technically I get paid but sometimes it feels like constant volunteer work!

Volunteering is so important! Not only does it helps others, it also has positive effects on the volunteer.

In the past I’ve volunteered at a center that helps pregnant women and women with young children. This year I’m trying to find a new volunteering activity. I have an interview this week to volunteer for a kiosk to help students at my university with problems like violence, depression, suicide, solitude and food disorders (they give a formation, of course). I really hope I’ll be chosen but if I’m not, I try to find something else that relates to my domain (I study in psychology).

I volunteer with Girls on the Run too! It’s my first season with them and it has been a great experience so far.

Girls on the Run sounds like a BLAST! I think they have something similar (if not the same thing, I’ll have to look) in my area. I LOVE big plates of veggies. I crave them! 🙂

i WANTED to volunteer on a farm, but the owners took so long to get back to me i ended up just taking more shifts at work. maybe next semester! i think it would be such a great experience.

Haha I’ve taken pictures on the floor before, gotta go where the light is!

I currently volunteer for an organization called Ten Thousand Villages. It’s a non-profit store that works with artisans around the world, paying them a fair price for their merchandise. Everything is fair trade certified and we have some of the most beautiful jewelry, home goods, etc. I really believe in the mission and love the things we have in the store, so I love it!

I am a volunteering fiend! I volunteer once a week in the local ER for 4 hours at the UCDMC. I volunteer once a week for a local organization that aims to improve school lunches by serving meals from scratch that use locally grown produce, including a daily Crunch Lunch (salad bar full of goodies.) I get to hand out samples of possible menu items to kids during their lunch and give nutrition lessons. Check out Davis Farm to School Connection! I also am an “intern” for the Red Cross and and do a bunch of stuff from teaching CPR (which I sometimes get paid for) to organizing health safety classes for the community and for children. Right now I am starting a new Certified Nursing Assistant program in my town and teaching disaster awareness to kids.

I volunteer for the Travelers’ Aid Society of Pittsburgh. Once a week you can find me at the airport’s information desk dispensing all kinds of travel advice, helpful tips for getting around The Burgh, helping anyone who is lost or in need. It’s fantastic! I cannot wait for my shift each week. I love it.

I used to volunteer regularly with the local food pantry, but then stopped when I started working 50+ hours a week and going to school. Now that everything has (radically!) changed, I’m hoping to go back soon.

I visit an elderly homebound woman about once a week to provide companionship, which I’ve been doing for the last four years. Back in high school a friend and I visited two elders every week at a nursing home in our town, and I spent a year volunteering with seniors after college.

There’s nothing like the stories and history I hear through meeting these incredible women.

Glad your coaching is going so well.

I am glad you had a good experience with GOTR. I have done a lot of volunteering (autism, food bank, delivering Thanksgiving dinners, Habitat for Humanity etc), and each experience is fulfilling in a different way. I am looking for a new opportunity now that incorporates educating about healthy living somehow-sounds like you found a good match.

Volunteering is something near and dear to my heart. Currently I am a Brownie leader (7-8 year olds), volunteer at Bingo for the Air Cadets as well as with their newsletter and also help organize events for my daughters swim club. In the past I’ve volunteered in the kids schools as well as with the breakfast program. Volunteering is such a great experience. I’ve learned so much from so many over the years. Volunteering will always be a part of my life.

You are such a wonderful coach! Definitely a natural. I am so, so happy you’re doing this with me 🙂

I am also volunteering for GOTR here in Boston. I also volunteer for this great girls’ school in the area, Mother Caroline. They help underprivelaged 8th grade girls excel academically while providing them moral support and stability they do not get at home. I mentor 1 girl beginning in 8th grade, and follow her through high school. These girls are able to win scholarships to prestigious private high schools and ultimately get to college, where they may never have without the program!

mmm I looove giant plantes of vegetables! Those are my absolute favorite!

GOTR sounds like SUCH a great organization!
And I’m in looooove with dipping veggies in barbecue sauce right now.. so good!

I’ve never heard of GOTR, sounds so fun! My daughter is 10 and would love to start running. She and I have done some biking, but I haven’t taken her on any runs with me. I am totally inspired to now!

I am PTA President this year, so my volunteering is down at the school. It keeps me pretty busy, but I love doing it. I feel like I make a difference, know what’s going on in my kids lives and make great friends in the process!

that sauce is AWESOME.

this totally reminded me of MY VOLUNTEERING… until a couple years ago I was a coach for the weight lifting team of the special olympics. 🙂 so amazing, SO much work… and SO AMAZING

🙂 🙂

I had to take some time off for traveling and other things, but I am on schedule to start again soon. those kids really make my day.

Girls on the Run seems like a great organization! It’s awesome that your volunteering with such a busy schedule. Truly an inspiration!

I just signed up last month to volunteer for Girls on the Run too. I signed up just to run on the day of the race as I am recovering from a serious injury. I hope I have as much fun as you had on your first day. Can’t wait. What a great program!

The little girl who has already run 3 5ks will definitely be a distance runner!

I love helping people out when I can. I know when things get rough its always nice to have a helping hand, so while I’m feeling great I can help someone else.

Haha. I think it’s hilarious that you take your photos on the hall floow. Our bathroom has the best light, but I haven’t contemplated going THERE yet…maybe when I get fed up from the fluorescents in the kitchen.

Killer BBQ sauce, I love it too. I love to volunteer! Every Holiday Season my husband and I make balloon animals for some incredible families in East Los angeles, and they seriously have nothing and the smile that one simple balloon gives them, makes it all worth it, it is beyond words but a true happy feeling.:)

I visit an older couple who used to attend my church who can no longer go anymore a couple times a month on Sundays after church. I’d never met them before, but they’ve lived in my community a long time and I’ve learned a lot from them. It is getting hard to see how the older man has gotten sicker over the months I’ve visited them … I really do love them.

It’s awesome you’re making a once a week commitment, Caitlin. This past month, visiting “my family” (that’s what I call them: “I have to visit my family after church,” LOL) twice in a month has been hard since I’ve been out of town so much!

That sounds like fun. 🙂 I bet the girls love you.

As you know, I love Girls on the Run as well. I am hoping to start coaching, once we settle down in a city. It sounds like you had a blast today! The girls are going to so benefit from your involvement =)

Good job at GOTR 🙂
I volunteer at a charity shop a few days a week – at firts it was to get exeperience and help out, but back in august I moved shops (the first one closed) and now it’s awful 🙁

I wish I had someone to make me dinner! There is always just me.

I definitely understand you want to take pictures on the floor. I tried taking photos of my meals but gave it up because it just didn’t look like the pictures I saw on other blogs.. 🙂

Sounds like a great time with the girls!

I usually volunteer abroad (have in Thailand and India), but am working hard to start a chapter of an NGO that will help orphaned children in this prefecture.

I don’t volunteer anywhere yet, but I’m currently looking into tons of opportunities related to my nutrition program available through my school. I might sign up to do something like running healthy eating seminars!

I am a mentor for Big Brothers Big Sisters. I came from a divorced, lower-income family, and I think it is important for kids to have positive adult role models and some space to get away from the stress of their family life, so it is great to be able to give back in that way.

I also help organize canned food drives and other food-related volunteers opps a few times a year, because, well, I love food and want everyone to have enough.

i volunteer with the high school group (lifeteen) at my church. it was such a huge part of my life in high school, and after i graduated college i felt the urge to giveback and make a difference in the kids lives just like the volunteers made a difference in my life. it has been one of the best decisions i made post-college, as i have made great new friends and enjoyed getting to know the teens!

I’m a Court Appointed Child Advocate and I love it!

Below is from the website:

There’s no easy answer to the ever-present “What is Child Advocates?” Very simply, our organization trains and supports volunteers. Volunteers who make a difference in the lives of children. These volunteers are assigned to the cases of children who have been victims of life-threatening abuse or neglect and – as a result – have been placed in protective custody. Our volunteers contact caseworkers, interview parents, ensure necessary medical care, look out for educational interests and make recommendations in court regarding the permanent placement of the child. They dry tears and give hugs and throw birthday parties too. Most importantly, they serve as a “constant” person for that child to count on during a very tumultuous time. Essentially, our volunteers do whatever it takes to ensure that the needs of the child are being met while that child is in care.

http://www.childadvocates.org/index.htm

I am a volunteer substitute teacher. Every day I work at an elementary school in CMS with a kindergarten class. It is so fulfilling. The kids are amazing. They fall in love with you and vice versa. They mean so much to me, and it’s amazing to watch them grow. It is so much more rewarding then any other job I have done in the past (I am 19 and have not been to college yet, and I only work in restaurants and such).

I looove volunteering. I work with a organization called Boston Cares (bostoncares.org if any of you guys are interested). Mainly, I work with seniors. They teach me card games, we play clue, etc. etc. But I also have done some work with the Big Sisters and different soup kitchens in the area. Volunteering is soo rewarding and Boston Cares pretty much has something for everyone!!

I love that Bone Suckin’ Sauce; it’s one of my favorites, too! I volunteer for our corporate programs and for the food kitchens here in Manhattan. Great post. Have a wonderful day!

I am taking a break right now but I volunteer for Guide Dogs of America. I am a Puppy Raiser and train and socialize puppies. Also, I am a licensed Animal Assisted Therapist working with child abuse kids.

It is great to see so many of your readers volunteering.

Bone Suckin’ Sauce is amazing! You can use it on almost anything.

roasted broccoli is the BEST.

I love Bone Suckin’ Sauce! I just discovered it on the “local” shelf at Whole Foods a few weeks ago.

That volunteering position sounds cool and very fun. Personally, I don’t volunteer, because, well….I’m in grad school. That should be ’nuff said on that one 😛 But, yeah, I am in school full time as a grad student AND I have a tutoring session once a week (and I’m thinking of adding another one), and some seminars about learning to teach writing, so I’m pretty busy. Reading blogs is a guilty pleasure some days 🙂

Quick question – what type of potatoes are those? They look like regular white skinned new potatoes, but smaller. They look perfect for roasting.