One of my desires is connecting to my community.
My biggest connections are currently in 2 running clubs. I've tried volunteering at a few places in the past few years, but I quit because I didn't feel it was the right fit for me. I'm still exploring two more volunteer opportunities actively.
What are some methods you connect to your community?
Ye olde pub :)
Volunteer at library
Volunteer firefighter (might have some nice kickbacks too)
What are your other interests? If you're in a big city there must be quite a few clubs.
What does it take to become a volunteer firefighter?
I was a volunteer fireman for several years here in my community.
However due to being on the road and gone so much, I was not a reliable asset as such. In this community, if you live in the area of operations, you simply volunteer for it, pass a physical exam, and take training as a fireman, and paramedic if you wish. The EMS gives EMT courses free to the fire department. Our home phones were tied in together so they all rang at the same time when we were needed. I kept my fireman status by keeping up with training and later doing the office work when I was not gone away from the community. I eventually retired after 20 years from it, and get a small pension out of it. Amounts to about $800.00 a year, but that buys the Killian Irish Red's. It could be that the training you get would be worth being on the force. I have an EMT (Emergency Medical Technician) certificate for what that is worth.
@JohnnyH, What does a library volunteer do?
I'm currently pursuing an emergency volunteer ham radio position (RACES) and volunteering in an environmental laboratory. Ever since I read Seth Godin's book Dip, I've been more into perfecting my free time efforts. Maybe I am over-compensating.
The volunteer fire fighter gig sounds interesting.
@rePete - Tell me more about RACES, please. (I know what it is technically, but what and how much do they do? meetings?) It sounds interesting and I want to get out of "repeater chatting"---in fact, since I got my license, I have only used my radio once (maybe I should list this under the ERE sins topic). It's very sad, but I hate small-talk :)
A library volunteer reshelves the books and/or checks them out for the patrons---maybe they do other stuff too. Our library has ongoing openings for volunteers. There's even a volunteer greeter from time to time which I find kinda weird.
@jacob: To apply in my town, you need to 1) live in the town 2) go to three monthly meetings in a row, and then 3) apply to join. You then essentially become like a justice of the peace, but for the fire department.
I see two major benefits. The first is opportunity for free training, like CPR and first aid, EMT, and time with the fire department (one scheduled fire engine ride per year!). The other benefit is meeting ham radio people. From what I've met, these people often make the stereotypical engineer/scientist look main-stream cool. They seem to be the zenith in the hierarchy of nerds, so I think good people to learn from or with.
Another way to get off the ERE sin list with your radio is to volunteer at trail running races. They often need ham radio volunteers. Contact a Race Director (RD), if interested. This is why I originally pursued a license.
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