Do any of you do voluntary work ? Who for, how long etc

I record for quite a few small scale and community orchestras, and non-profit 501c organizations. I've done so for nearing twenty years now. With the way that funding for the arts and grants have dried up, they are left with little to no funds. The ticket sales don't cover the costs to produce the music. I do my recordiongs for free, with the hopes that they are decent enough to be used for sale, as CD's, in a buy the last shows recording at the currect show merchandise tables. We are also trying to use my recordings to promote and get the word out about the different ensembles, in some cases, by allowing the recordings to be hosted on archival websites, for free downloads.
At any rate,.... lots of hours spent doing this stuff, for them. I do what I do for a deep love of what they do.
 
I volunteer with a local church (not mine) that sponsors a prom boutique. They collect prom dresses, evening bags, shawls, glitzy shoes, jewelry, etc. Each spring they notify all the schools in the Kansas City area - everything is free. No questions asked except how did you find out about it and what school do you attend. As a professional organizer, I help people clean out their closets, garages, offices, etc. If they have "prom" like stuff to donate - I ask if I can take it to the Prom Boutique. When the Boutique is held, I help set up and work during the days that the girls come to pick out dresses. SO FUN!!! This year we gave out 1500 dresses.
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My philosophy with volunteering: Do something you are already good at - you don't have to change who you are to help out. Let someone else do the stuff you can't. Give what you can.

My philosophy with volunteers: Always treat them nicely and respectfully so they know they are appreciated and they will come back to help more. A grumpy volunteer will chase others away. Listen to their ideas and give them authority to handle things.

100% agreed!!! I do what I can, but don't try to do stuff that is "out of my wheelhouse". The second part is entirely true as well. We used to have an annual jazz and blues festival every fall, relying heavily on volunteers--and the community "managers" in charge of the event treated the volunteers so badly that they had to discontinue the event because they could no longer get volunteers.
 
That's what happens - you get a bunch of people who aren't welcoming and appreciative. Or they have been doing it for years and are set in their ways, and the old ways don't work because things are changing, but they don't want to change. Or they are tired and want to quit and can't hand it off to someone because they might do it differently from 'they way we always did it.'
 
That's what happens - you get a bunch of people who aren't welcoming and appreciative.

.You hit the nail right on the head there--that is exactly what happened. In the beginning, it started with free food and beverages for all of the volunteers, and the paid employees actually "worked" with the volunteers side-by-side. Then it turned into the paid employees sitting on their asses and working the volunteers like rented mules, and if you wanted something to eat or drink, you were on your own. A couple pizzas or sandwiches and a case or two of beverages goes a long way to keeping the free help happy and willing to come back and do it again.
 
The big Habitat garage sale I help at takes days to get ready. They have a whole crew that runs the kitchen. You can walk in there about any time you want and get food. Doesn't matter whether you worked all day or just got there at 6 pm from work, they are glad to see you and want to feed you. It's one of the things that keeps me going back every year. I don't even go to church there - at first I was just a customer, but they were all so nice I got sucked in.. :biggrin:
 
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