I was just wondering what sort of volunteering Outsporters do.

Next week I'm going to be volunteering as backstage crew at a benefit production of Little Shop of Horrors. There will be 4 performances (March 23-26, $25-45, Isabel Bader Theatre, click here for tickets), all benefitting the PWA (People With AIDS) Foundation in Toronto.

Volunteer monthly at local gay bingo, involved with a few local professional organizations, serve on 2 boards (which is volunteer work) and do tabling on behalf of one of the organizations at gay events. Oh, and there is organizing that Gay Night at the Phillies, which since no one pays me to do, is volunteer work.

I volunteer for either the Oscar party AIDS benefit or the DivaMN fashion show. This year I am going to volunteer for the MN AIDS Walk.

I use to volunteer with the MN AIDS Project during 18+ nights at one of the gay bars about AIDS prevention and what not.

I volunteer two evenings a month at a food bank and one afternoon every two weeks at a convelescent hospital--where, sadly, I usually wind up washing soiled bedlinens.

~Adam

THE gay bingo? The one that was featured in a special on channel 12 a while back? Were you at all captured on camera in that show? Was that the beginning of your other career as a Media Whore????

I think we should take up a collection for you for this particular task, or buy you dinner or something. wink

I haven't done any volunteer work in a looooooooong time. My then-bf and I once did some envelope-stuffing and the like for the Phila. Lesbian & Gay Task Force but since then I've just written out checks, I'm afraid. eek!

I volunteer to get out of bed in the morning and work 40 hrs a week.

I work with the Big Brother/Big Sister Program and really enjoy it!! Do some work at the local food bank sometime too

great question! i wish i could fill the page with a list of my volunteer work, but...

my job keeps me fed, my running keeps me sane, but my work at the local soup kitchen keeps me fulfilled and puts everything back into perspective for me when i lose focus on the really important things.

The same gay bingo that was the subject of a Channel 12 documentary (also shown on other PBS stations) but I was not captured on camera.


I've set up a scholarship fund in memory of a close friend who passed away last summer. As soon at the online donation mechanism is set up, I'll let people know. I'd rather have people donate to the scholarship fund than buy me dinner.

Volunteering can be a great way to meet new people and do some good at the same time.

[ March 15, 2005, 06:52 AM: Message edited by: scottie ]

Habitat for Humanity

It's nice to see there are other Outsporters who are able to donate some spare time to worthy causes. At present I don't have a volunteer position (unless my child sponsorship counts), but for six years I delivered for 'Meals on Wheels', once or twice a month. Before that, I was a support-buddy to a man with AIDS, and did some work for Amnesty International. One of my most interesting voluntary positions, about 20 years ago, was teaching a citizenship course to immigrants. All of these jobs have been rewarding. Being a pet-lover, I might look into doing something to help my local Humane Society.

I serve on the Board, and head the fundraising committe, for a supportive housing facility for PWA's in Manhattan (supportive housing means we provide them with basic social services, substance abuse counseling, etc). I also mentor a couple of teenagers who attend the alternative high school for gay and lesbian teenagers, am on the advisory council of my alma mater alumni association's outreach program for Latino students, and have just joined a newly-formed committee to preserve mid-century architecture in Broward County, Florida. It's sometimes overwhelming, but ultimately it's incredibly gratifying when an AIDS patient thanks you for raising money for yoga classes because it's the only thing that keeps her from thinking about the drugs she wants, or a kid who wanted to drop out of high school because the other boys harassed him unmercifully instead gets accepted to a good college and tells you you were an inspiration. All I can say when people ask me about volunteering is: our communities are what we make them.

I was a volunteer in the clinical trials for the Vaxgen AIDS preventive vaccine for 3 years. The study meant getting injections over the 3 year period of either vaccine or placebo as well as blood tests. It included answering questions about sexual pactices I had engaged in including frequency since the last visit. Visits were I believe every 3 months . It was also necessary to keep a medical diary as far as your temperature and possible side effects from the vaccine. There were times it was inconvenient and bothersome but I did it for my bf who had passed away shortly before the trials began. Sadly the vaccine did not prevent HIV infection. My voluteering of late has been of the envelope stuffing variety.

After 4+ enriching years of teaching ESL to immigrants, I finally had to give it up this past year because my workload had just gotten way too heavy. Working for the City of Alexandria has given me many opportunities to get involved in the community (I have also helped in the past with parties for Special Olympics and done community outreach for Medicaid). I think one of my favorite organizations, which I miss, is when I volunteered for the Pet Patrol in Houston. Every other Saturday, I would drive around different parts of the city delivering pet food to persons with AIDS that had dogs and cats. After awhile, though, watching the owners (some of whom I had gotten to know fairly well) deteriorate got to be rather hard to see. Since I now work 40+ hours a week with a caseload that has about 98% persons with disabilities, I have found that I need a little time away from volunteerism for a couple of years.

Drat. wink

Can we do both?

That is true...

I volunteer at Shepherd Center in Atlanta. Work with spinal cord injured patients who still have a little mobility left in their legs.

I am disappointed with the Twin Cities branch of the Human Rights Campaign. I've called numerous times to see when the meetings are & I checked their web site & there are meetings; but it's posted the day of or the day before which never works for me.

I never see nor hear any volunteer work the HRC does here in our community. I am a member & pay my dues, but I never see it in our community. Hell, I read and hear about HRC events in other cities, but Minneapolis is lax. If there was an activity to volunteer for HRC, I'd do it.

Does HRC actually do anything? The group out here just holds an annual dinner where they honor some straigh person who supposedly contributes to "gay rights," but they never actually do anything in the community.

I am mebember (and just joined the Board)I am member (and just joined the Board) of a local LGBT organization that promotes diversity through volunteer projects throughout the city. We team with other organizations to do service projects. We work at the local food bank, help the local Girl Scouts, do a lot with the cancer runs and races held each year, and any other sort of project that comes up.

http://www.glenda.org/index.html