Poll: Do you volunteer?

[Yuno Gasai]

I used to volunteer as a dog walker, but I grew too emotionally attached to the dogs and had to stop doing it.

[small][sub]Seriously, the fact I can't have a dog breaks my heart. And knowing that they're all so lovely and yet they haven't found homes... :c[/sub][/small]

I've also volunteered for a charity shop, manning the shop floor and helping them with their eBay account.

It's something I do enjoy doing (I get to meet new people and it gives me that feel-good feeling), but now I have a job it's difficult to find the time and energy to invest in volunteer work.

 

[Something Amyss]

I used to do more than I do now, because in a lot of instances, I'm currently the kind of person I used to help.

But I still do what I can for people, even now. And I don't do it for credit, I do it because it's the right thing to do.

 

[GonzoGamer]

Not as much as I'd like to but I've been busy.
I did a lot more in my youth... especially if you count protest rallies "volunteering"...which you probably shouldn't in most cases. I've tried to give blood but I lived in London around the time mad cow disease broke out there so they wont take it.
We also give money to charities. Not just money, my wife is very good about giving food, clothes, blood, she's even donated her hair a couple of times...her hair grows fast.

 

[DrunkOnEstus]

When I'm not doing computer work, I help my dad run a buy-sell-trade and consignment store. We get in all kinds of furniture, clothes, pots & pans, literally fucking everything. I have it set up so that the battered women's shelter comes and gets to pick out all kinds of furniture and kid's toys and the like for women who got brave and ran away from their abuser(s), and need things for their new place since they hit the reset button. I also got a hold of Social Services, and whenever they call we use our box truck to help move parts of dysfunctional families to new houses/special homes, and I just write it all off. I guess it's volunteering when asshole woman puncher is still at the house, and me & the DSS worker are there to keep the move as smooth as it can be. I've had to kick an ass or two (yes they'll still try to get abusive with the woman or me even during that), thankfully the worker looks the other way on that one.

 

[DeltaEdge]

No, but I should. Helping out others in need should be a given, and I am kind of a dick for not doing so.
[sub][sub]But it doesn't help to be a poor college freshman with no disposable income, no car, and no driver's license.[/sub][/sub]

 

[acey195]

If modding counts, adding more game to people's games for free

 

[Little Woodsman]

Anyway I tried donating blood, the doctor wouldn't let me because he said I'd pass out if I did, don't see how that's a big deal.

Blood centers in the US (Can't say about other countries) have a *very* strict set of protocols that they have to
follow about everything.
Part of those protocols has to do with people losing consciousness during/after donation. If someone faints and
does not recover to certain parameters (pulse, blood pressure within certain ranges, demonstrably lucid etc...)
within a certain amount of time (varies by organization but generally about 1/2 hour) they have to call an
ambulance for the donor.
An even bigger issue is that when a person faints after blood donation it is often after they have stood up,
and can be injured by the fall.

 

[Snotnarok]

Does watching after your mentally disabled mother every day count?

 

[tippy2k2]

If modding counts, adding more game to people's games for free

...you don't receive any kind of money for this, right (through ads or whatnot)? If so, I'd count it. It's not "volunteering" like helping the homeless or some other "noble" cause but I consider it to be like being a Mod; you have a lot of other things you could be doing with your time than helping others have fun

 

[jdogtwodolla]

I Donate blood for the red Cross Occasionally. They call and I go but sometimes I put it off.

I've donated money during events or for stuff. Too much money than I actually have to spend, and in regards to stuff, a bit self-minded.

I won an auction for canned foods that I took to the local homeless shelter just because I thought it was a good idea.

Maybe I'm wrong but I don't actually consider any of these real volunteering. The last time I count myself volunteering was when I had to fill requirements for High-school, which was years ago. Park service/stadium clean-up and whatnot.

 

[zehydra]

Volunteering can be quite beneficial for those who really need help. But working for free simply for the hell of it is worse for whatever society you're in in the long run.

 

[DrunkenMonkey]

I tried volunteering a few times, doing manual labor like cleaning up a pantry, organizing books for distribution, etc. it didn't work for me though. It felt like time truly was wasted for some reason, that's just my opinion though. Giving blood out at blood drives seemed like a much more worthwhile effort though.

I honestly don't recommend anyone doing manual labor for free if anyone is planning on volunteering. The fact that you are working for free and quite literally busting your ass for 2-3 hours at a time is not covered by that feel good feeling.

 

[acey195]

If modding counts, adding more game to people's games for free

...you don't receive any kind of money for this, right (through ads or whatnot)? If so, I'd count it. It's not "volunteering" like helping the homeless or some other "noble" cause but I consider it to be like being a Mod; you have a lot of other things you could be doing with your time than helping others have fun

Thanks!