Volunteering on Christmas Day

aligator_am

Hey Folks, just wondering if anyone here has done this?

I was thinking about signing up for it but never got around to it, heard a segment on the radio about it this morning and was surprised at the number of people that do it.

To anyone with previous experience in this field, just wondering where would be a good place to help out / volunteer around Dublin maybe next year?

ETA: The article on the radio referred to feeding the homeless in soup kitchens, helping the elderly etc.

MadsL

We generally just end up figuring out or asking who is spending Christmas alone/away from family and inviting for Christmas dinner...we had a very Polish Christmas three years ago in Dublin, this year will be a bit more Jewish.

It is nice to make a place at the table.

I have always meant to volunteer at a Christmas homeless meal however...

wretcheddomain

If it's the Irish Volunteers, no thanks, I've already subscribed as a member of the Orange Order.

aligator_am

MadsL wrote: »

We generally just end up figuring out or asking who is spending Christmas alone/away from family and inviting for Christmas dinner...we had a very Polish Christmas three years ago in Dublin, this year will be a bit more Jewish.

It is nice to make a place at the table.

I have always meant to volunteer at a Christmas homeless meal however...

Ah that sounds like a great thing to do, never even thought of it.

Yeah, would like to help out the less fortunate at Christmas, must do a bit of research on it.

Greyfox

Volunteering to not be at home on xmas day...I don't think that would be my kinda thing to be honest but fair play to anybody who does

pow wow

Why not volunteer at other times of the year? Not to burst a bubble but charities are swamped by one-day-warriors who simply must volunteer on 1 day out of 365 so they can feel good about themselves - and charities don't have the capacity to utilise all the offers of help. Then the one-day-warriors grumble about their help not being appreciated etc.

Try smaller local groups rather than the big name ones, or ideally, offer your help at other times of the year when your time is needed.

aligator_am

pow wow wrote: »

Why not volunteer at other times of the year? Not to burst a bubble but charities are swamped by one-day-warriors who simply must volunteer on 1 day out of 365 so they can feel good about themselves - and charities don't have the capacity to utilise all the offers of help. Then the one-day-warriors grumble about their help not being appreciated etc.

Try smaller local groups rather than the big name ones, or ideally, offer your help at other times of the year when your time is needed.

Yeah that's a fair point, I tend to have a good bit of free time (not married and no kids) so I suppose I don't really have any excuses

Electric Sheep

pow wow wrote: »

Why not volunteer at other times of the year? Not to burst a bubble but charities are swamped by one-day-warriors who simply must volunteer on 1 day out of 365 so they can feel good about themselves - and charities don't have the capacity to utilise all the offers of help. Then the one-day-warriors grumble about their help not being appreciated etc.

Try smaller local groups rather than the big name ones, or ideally, offer your help at other times of the year when your time is needed.

It's the same here in the US - oversupply of volunteers at Thanksgiving and Christmas, undersupply the rest of the year. Volunteer time offered regularly throught the year - once a month or once a week - is worth far more than once a year.

pow wow

aligator_am wrote: »

(not married and no kids)

A/s/l?!

Try your local volunteer centre or if there's a cause particularly close to your heart contact the charities concerned directly. I'm sure they'd love to her from you, on any one of those 364 other days