Experience

Experience Paper

Volunteer work has been something I have been involved in before, but never to improve my job skills. During the course of this online search, I used three different resources. The first was the Volunteer Center of Southern Nevada website, where my keyword/search criteria was "counseling." I had originally tried, "rehab," to no avail. The second was the Three Square website where they offered a downloadable .pdf file with all listed and available volunteer opportunities. In order to become a Three Square volunteer, there is an application process. Lastly I used the Volunteer Match engine where I searched for two different keywords, the first being counseling, and the second being court. There were many more opportunities available in my city (Las Vegas, NV) than I would have expected whatsoever.
What I found that I would be interested in from the first website I used (volunteercentersn.org) was a need for buddies/shoppers/guides for The Blind Center of Nevada. This really hits home for me due to the fact that I have been deemed legally blind for quite some time now, and have utilized all of the wonderful help that The Blind Center has to offer. I feel it would only be right to pay them back for all that they have done for me. From the second website that I used (threesquare.org), I found a couple of things that I would be interested in, such as the "senior share" program where the volunteers pack canned and dry food into boxes as needed for the seniors in the community, the "backpack for kids" program, where the volunteers pack backpacks for students and then sorting them into various school bins, the "banquet assistants" program where volunteers assist the banquet staff with setting up food stations, tableware, plates, refilling drinks and things of that nature and a front desk greet that greets the volunteers and directs them to their designated area. From the last engine that I used (volunteermatch.org), I found the most results. Ironically enough, I did not search for what I normally would, but instead, for "court." The first thing I found that really interested me was the section on CASA volunteers. These are everyday people who are appointed to children by a judge to help advocate for child's safety and well-being because the child has been removed from their home due to parental abuse or neglect. This is kind of like a mentor for the child. The "Court Support" section is another rewarding one to me, because it entails showing up in court to support victims of domestic violence. This only requires four hours a week as well, which is not difficult to work into even a busy schedule. Another one that I wish I could do, but do not have the means to do at this moment in my life is to host a foreign exchange student. However, there is a need for mentors of the high school foreign exchange students as well, something that I could very well do right now. The last thing that I found on this website was from the Big Brothers Big Sisters of Southern Nevada, a cause that I frequently donate to and care very much about.
Volunteering in any of these areas would greatly help strengthen my people skills, among many other things. All that I know I want to do is help people with the use of psychology. Whether or not it is a child, an abused ex wife, a student, a veteran, a disabled person (mentally or physically), a senior, a husband, a mother, an addict, an Alcoholic, or just a regular person makes absolutely no difference to me. Another reason why I think this would be drastically beneficial to me is that I would get the face time with different kinds of people and maybe then I would be able to narrow down what it is I am good at and who it is I am good at working with. I plan to become a substance abuse counselor, but I have a soft spot for children and seniors as well as addicts and Alcoholics, so I think that this would serve me very well. The more that I am around people, and the more comfortable that I become with people from all walks of life, the better able and prepared I will be when I finally get that counseling position I have wanted for so, so long. I think that the more insight I can gain from others, about others, from me, about me, so on and so forth, will only add to the inventory in which I can eventually offer other people.
What I have to offer these organizations is commitment, dedication, drive, motivation, positivity, willingness, punctuality, kindness, caring, compassion, empathy, want, hope, peace, knowledge, time, drive, diligence, patience and people skills. I know that if I were given the opportunity to be placed in a setting where I could volunteer some of my time to help people, that I would do just that, and at the end of the day, I'm sure that the people would end up helping me just as much as I would be helping them, if not more. This is something that I am very passionate about, and wild horses could not drag or keep me away from doing what I love. I love to help people, and make them happy. I could talk to people all day long about what's going on in their life and never get sick of it. Whether or not they just needed somebody to listen to them and hear them, or whether they were seeking out another human being to simply acknowledge that they are not alone and that they are not crazy, either way I enjoy very much. The people seeking out help and advice are the most honest, open-minded and willing, and therefore are probably the easiest to get through, but that is not what is important. What I have to offer is persistence, a person that will never give up on these people, and a person who legitimately cares about the wellness of the person with no selfish, self-seeking intentions behind it whatsoever. This is something that I found to be very helpful in my life as well, and that is why I want to offer it to other people. I can only speak for myself when I share what has and what has not worked, so what I have learned is to share these things and offer people the things I was so kindly and so freely offered and hope that it does for them what it has done for me.
Aside from volunteer work like the ones I have researched online today, there are a lot of other things that I do that I believe help me in the areas I need in order to develop the best possible job skills. For example, one day a week I chair an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting. I also fill-in chair on holidays or when the other secretaries are sick or have prior obligations. Another day a week I pass out the sobriety milestone chips for various lengths of time. Once a week I volunteer at the Salvation Army (impatient) Treatment Facility for their speaker meeting and share my story, experience, strength and hope. I tell them what it was like, what happened, and what it is like now. I let them know that there is light at the end of the tunnel if you just open your eyes and look forward. I also sponsor other women in the program and go to Harris Springs Ranch up on Mt. Charleston quite frequently to volunteer to help set up, direct and clean up the different recovery events that they have up there. Another thing that I do is co-facilitate some of my Drug Court classes (which is required in certain levels of Drug Court) when okayed by my counselors. Every other week I volunteer at the Las Vegas Rescue Mission to help feed the residents there in treatment and the homeless. These are all things that make me aspire to be a counselor one day, and it makes it easier and easier to speak to people about their problems, give them advice, motivate them and give them hope the more frequently that I do it. That is why I love doing it, and that is the beauty of it.





















REFERENCES

http://www.volunteercentersn.org
http://www.threesquare.org
http://www.volunteermatch.org