One Night per Week

We're all busy. There's nothing new there. If isn't the job and the kids, its the strippers and the drug habit. Doesn't matter. When it boils down to it, the amount of time that one has needs to be a huge consideration when it comes to choosing a volunteer project.

If you're flighty flaky no-good hipster (as I may or may not be) its not the best idea to sign up to mentor kids or work in an office. This is how volunteers can actually end up being more harmful than helpful. If an organization has taken the time to train you or a child/senior has allowed themselves to trust you then you are morally obligated to continue your service at least 6 months. Yes. 6 months. If you're really nice..a year.

This may come as a shock, but think about it. What do you do when you really hate your job? Think back to a time that you worked at (insert shitty dead end customer service/office slave type job here) where your boss slapped your ass and called ya "toots" or made you clean out the most disgusting part of the entire building with a toothbrush or some shitty thing like that. What do you do? You know damn well what you do. You QUIT!
"Take that! you no good bourgy piece of shit. I hope you and your disgusting Subway franchise kingdom  falls off the nearest cliff, and I want to be there to see your sorry existence go up in a fit of flames and footlongs!!" And that's when you gather up the biggest loogie in the back of your throat and hock it on the nearest difficult thing to clean and growl, "I QUIT!"

Deep breath. Now, didn't that feel nice?

But the fact of the matter is, you don't want to do this to an organization that is doing good things for the world. When applying for a volunteer job that requires a certain time commitment --make sure you can live up to that commitment.

I plan on being in Portland for about 6 more months. Give or take. I've got one night per week. Just enough time to get involved in a volunteer activity that requires a bit of training. I've e-mailed a few Volunteer Coordinators with my interest. I'll let you know how it goes.