A Volunteer's First Day

In this blog, I usually focus on you. But today, I’m going to steal the spotlight and talk about my first day at a new volunteering “job.” It’s a good cause, and it was actually pretty fun. Let me tell you a little about it.

The organization I spent my time at last week (and will be working at again this week) is a thrift store. Sounds like an odd place to volunteer, right? Well, the store is in business to fund an animal shelter in our area, so it’s actually a non-profit. I chose this particular volunteer opportunity as opposed to volunteering at a shelter because I don’t know if I’m tough enough to handle time at an animal shelter. In fact, I know I’m not. I’d come home with 12 dogs on the first day – but no cats; I don’t like cats.

So, this seemed perfect for me. It offers a way for me to help the animals without having to see any sad puppies sitting in small cages just waiting for someone to take them home. It makes me sad just thinking about it. The woman who runs the thrift store (and will eventually run the shelter) is a local animal warden (kind of like an animal's parole officer) who saw the need for a shelter in town. Surprisingly, there are two or three small, privately owned places around, but the closest major shelter is about 40 minutes away.

The reason I wanted to volunteer in the first place (aside from all the benefits I usually tout on this blog) is because I really (really) needed to get myself out of the house. I work from home and I don’t really have enough of a tie to the community. So again, this is perfect. I get to meet local shoppers and help a good cause. It’s a win-win.