Do you volunteer? (North Port: appointed, sale, houses)

[mktobob]

Just curious. I am a firm believer in volunteering. From the teens and earlier through retirement.
I am 62 and retired about a year ago, so I have some more good years ahead of me to help others. Once we get moved to North Port and settled in I will continue that lifelong mission.
So, do you volunteer and if so where?
I have volunteered for the American Red Cross, Habitat For Humanity and several other groups and found it fulfilling.
I don't have any ideas yet, but hope to do something new, fulfilling and important to someone.

[Macgregorsailor51]

We volunteer through our church.. Contact just about any church for a list.. H4H is one for sure there is a soup kitchen looking for help on FRidays 11AM - 5 PM.. Lots of chances to help the elderly.. I am on a go to list, for my skill sets..

[mktobob]

Someone once told me that there is a special place in heaven for volunteers. That sounds good to me cause I need all the help I can get!

[Macgregorsailor51]

Send me a DM and I will drop by the church and get a list..

Originally Posted by mktobob

Someone once told me that there is a special place in heaven for volunteers. That sounds good to me cause I need all the help I can get!

[MikMal]

When I lived in Maryland I volunteered at a volunteer fire house and with a local fishing club that puts on programs to interest kids in fishing. When I moved here in FL I was disappointed to say the least that not only don't we have any local volunteer fire houses but that my training and experience (26 years in the District of Columbia FD) didn't count for squat.
I've since joined the Coast Guard Auxiliary but it just doesn't fulfill the comradery of a fire house.
I have looked into the Peace River Search & Rescue Asso. but unfortunately their training programs run for the months during the time me and the family spend up north. Guess I'll keep looking!

[DragonflyMom]

I live in IslandWalk and we have a wonderful in-community volunteer opportunity. The community partners with the All Faiths Food Bank and packs 'weekend food backpacks" for about 250 kids who attend 4 different schools in North Port. The kids are identified by the school counselors as being in a "food insecurity" situation, and enrolled in the program. The food bank supplies the food, and every two weeks we have a backpack day. About 40 volunteers show up, the food is packed, and then drivers deliver the food to the schools to be distributed to the participating kids on Friday afternoon.

In addition to all the volunteer hours, the community raises enough money each year to reimburse the food bank for the cost of feeding about 80 children. This amount totals around $13,000. We also recently started using funds from donations and fundraisers to fund half the cost of a food pantry at one school.

It's really a great program, and it's all right here in the neighborhood. This school year, our volunteers will have put in more than 1300 hours.

[TamRE]

There are an abundance of opportunities to volunteer in this community at hospitals, not profit organizations and others. I am a volunteer with the Gulf Coast Golden Retriever Rescue. I attend events to help recruit fosters and adopters and I hold an annual garage sale fundraiser at my home for them. I also belong to several clubs where we raise funds and donate to non-profits.

If you are looking for places that need volunteers, go to www.employflorida.com. Select Charlotte County and under Keywords type in Volunteer. It will give you a list of current organizations that are in need of volunteers.

[mktobob]

These posts are great to see. Strong volunteers help create strong communities. It's also a proven fact that volunteers get just as much out of volunteering as the recipients do.

[Seafood Junky]

Wife and I cannot wait to move to our PG home full time. We both want to V at Peace River Wildlife Center!

http://peaceriverwildlifecenter.org/