I don't have any great personal stories for you, but I can confirm that many of the big charities make it a pain to volunteer. Everything I was interested in doing (meaning I thought it would have a direct positive impact on someone's life) required a)a long orientation and sometimes weeks of training, or b) was so time consuming that one couldn't do it if one is employed full-time.

One winter, husband and one of his brothers found a great sale on sleeping bags, so they bought a bunch and went around giving them to the homeless people downtown. He said the reactions was interesting: some people were thankful, but some were rude and tried to demand cash.

So, there's my two cents.

As usual, I haven't anything terribly useful to add, but Ms. Alkon's remarks about formal career day did make me wonder: Did anyone explain why it would take so long to get the speaker program underway? A certain amount of bureaucracy I can understand. All organizations have to have a certain amount of that. But I'm trying to imagine what would take place in a year -- multiple layers of approval, recommendations for changes, and (gulp) liability reviews by the lawyers?

I've had similar experiences trying to volunteer my time, even offering to do doing professional things that an organization desperately needed done that I could charge $100 an hour for!! They just didn't get it. They knew how to recruit for x and y roles that they've always had, but they didn't know how to respond to something new, even if it would have meant very little extra work on their part, mainly benefit.

When I signed up to be a volunteer for a local community organization I was appaled that they wanted to interview me, for a volunteer job. Anyway they interviewed 60 people, 59 got the job. The one guy who didn't ended up threating to show up at the chairtable organization and commit some unspecified act of violence gainst the volunteer coordinator. I'd say the interview process had value.

Also, we have a local community group that offers free airplane rides to children under 18. I really hope they vet their volunteers well.

When I was receiving the Aid to Dependant Children check the program required participants to volunteer. Maybe it's just because I live in a small town (8,000 people), but there were a lot of places that would request people. I volunteered at the Public Health Department, doing grunt work, but other options were Headstart, the Humane Society, and the public library. There's also a place here that gives horse care and riding lessons to the mentally challenged.

I have a story. This is the place I adopted my dog from:

http://www.petfinder.com/shelters/flawdogs.html

I worked with Carol Boyer, who started the operation. Missouri has a lot of puppy mills, some of which have not treated their dogs humanely, especially when they have a dog that can't breed anymore, or when they end up with a litter of puppies that is too big, small, wrong color, or some other flaw.

Carol set out to try and rescue these dogs and find them homes, and she did it totally on her own. She quit her professional office job and now spends her days cleaning dog cages and trying to socialize dogs that have never been shown affection, so that they can be placed in homes. Her husband supports her and now shoulders the burden of the family budget himself, since her rescue organization barely breaks even, if that.

She started driving a van full of pet carriers to these places, trying to establish trust with these people and get them to give her all the dogs they no longer wanted. Her husband helped her build a bunch of little kennels in the garage with swinging doors that lead outside, and they partitioned off their yard. (They live out in the country, so they can do this.) Eventually a couple of her neighbors got on board, and now they have a full-fledged rescue going. I am in awe of the initiative she took, and wonder what it must have been like, thinking okay, I'm going to quit my job, lose my financial independence, and devote my life to this, instead of doing the easy thing which would be to look the other way and forget I know about it.

Morse Mill is out in the boonies of Missouri, sort of in the St. Louis area. I don't know how she managed to make her connections, but I think she did it just by living in the area and meeting people.

If I had a trust fund or a sugar daddy, I'd happily set up a Flawdogs North here in Iowa and join ranks with her.

Amy, if this strikes you as something you want for your book (which I can't wait to read), you can reach her at jncboyer6@aol.com.

Erm, I shouldn't have said "cleaning dog cages" above. (Duh ....) She doesn't keep the dogs in cages, I meant "cleaning up dog poop."

You guys really have to check out the website - she has FOUR PUGS.

I started out as a volunteer at St Thomas Hospital in Nashville after my mom was on life support for 3 weeks (she had pneumonia and went into cardiac arrest but recovered and has been fine for the 6 years since then.)

Anyway, it was an epiphany for me, and I resigned my computer programmer/consultant job to visit elderly patients. St Thomas was a wonderful place to volunteer and did great things to appreciate and encourage us.

From there I began volunteering for a very small nonprofit called Parents Reaching Out. We provide peer support at no cost to families experiencing high risk pregnancy or a baby/child in NICU or PICU. It is very rewarding work.

On the other hand, I used to volunteer to help at my kids' public schools, and I was never called on to do anything - not in the "club", I guess.

Organizations HAVE to train their volunteers, because they are liable if something goes wrong. This is not unreasonable.

They also can't take up all the free services offered to them, because again, they are responsible if something goes wrong. If the services are outside the scope of what they normally do, they may not be able to judge whether or not you are doing it correctly.

NGOs are under constant government scrutiny. Sometimes their funds can only be used in very specific ways.

Same with schools. Constant scrutiny. If they bring someone in who turns out to be a psycho, they are responsible.

This is not unreasonable. People give money to charities for specific reasons, and if the charities start blowing the money however they like, the donors aren't going to be happy. There are also a lot of confidentiality issues with a lot of organizations. Also many organizations depend on volunteers to get stuff done, and having someone donate a half an hour of time now and then when they feel like it ends up being less than helpful. The staff has other things to do than babysit people who have a few minutes to stock up on "feel good" time.

NicoleK--I think we're talking apples and oranges. Yes, there are certain volunteer jobs --those involving interaction with people and animals come to mind--for which one has to be trained. I get it. My personal situation is that I knew someone in a nonprofit who was always complaining the organization needed more publicity but she couldn't afford to pay for it. This is my field so I offered to volunteer but she never ended up being available to provide info or approve text, etc. A PR professional does not have to be trained to do PR.

I was reminded of this:

http://www.snopes.com/rumors/gander.asp#add

In college, I was involved in an organization called Best Buddies. My buddy had Downs Syndrome, a wicked silly sense of humor and our favorite activity was learning to cook something new, together.

Especially during the stress of senior year, I looked forward to seeing her each week. As the volunteer, all costs of activities were my responsibility, as it should be.

About 5-6 years ago, I wanted to get involved again, called the number on the website.

Was rudely told there was a fee (an amount that seemed excessive to me at the time) and all that would do was place my name on a waiting list.

I've found other ways to donate my time and money. Hopefully someone removed the stick from their backside. It was a great program back in the day.

Monica, that is silly that she asked for PR, you said yes, and then she never got around to it, I agree.

Trying to do anything with a school is a huge deal - even if it is just having speakers in.

I tried to get into my old high school several years ago, to discuss my experience with substance abuse. I talked with my old health teacher who was really excited about the idea. He talked to the principle, who thought it would be excellent. They both presented the idea to the admin, including an outline of my proposed presentation. They shot it down without a formal review. Said it would require too much time and even money, to get it approved - it would have to go through the lawyers first and then through the curriculum review board.

Even doing something as simple as a science activity, with the six year old's school's after school program was a huge headache. The only reason it made it through, was because I had done the same presentation at a few of Portland's community centers and had gotten cooperation from the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry, which helped us around a lot of red tape. Even then, it would not have been so easily approved as a presentation during regular school hours. It also made a big difference, that my son was a student there and was also in the after school program (though in a younger group than I would have dealt with).

Unfortunately, I can't do the presentation, due to our move to MI. On the up side, I got a couple folks to cover and it will still happen. It's a lot of fun - making instruments out of plumbing parts and common household/office materials and learning about sound and why we hear it. One of my talents is shaming/cajoling/bullying/just plain asking nicely, to convince suppliers to donate the necessary materials.

I suggest looking for organizations that deliberately do NOT receive government money. I do work for Newborns In Need. We make garments, blankies, etc. for preemies and for babies in crisis situations. No volunteer is turned away, no matter what their skills (or non-skills). There are lots of other organizations out there like that. Just look for their government-money policy -- it's a good shorthand indicator.

I saw this article yesterday:

http://tinyurl.com/6ma3m8

I like how Mr. Somerville focuses on people, and not the process.