Some people are born being able to sing or be interested in a political career or perhaps teaching. There are those who want to help others in whatever capacity that might entail.
I happened to have been born being interested in a variety of things, many of them all at one time. Sometimes I can see further down the road than others and sometimes I’m just plain curious. As an example, I was given my first watch for my seventh birthday and promptly took it apart to see what made it work. I have been accused on more than one occasion of trying to reinvent the wheel.
Even though life handed me the position of being a single parent of two, I still followed the good Lord’s suggestion that I volunteer when and where the occasion might arise.
I have seen the total county population go from 8,000 to 112,000 persons and the need for volunteers has risen proportionally. The county is now 20 percent inhabited by senior citizens.
As your children require less of your time during the day or you have just retired from a lifetime of working and that old urge of volunteering gets stronger, here are a couple of suggestions.
Perhaps you have no idea where you might want to volunteer or even where to go to get some ideas, I am offering two suggestions.
FACTOR is an excellent source. It is a Fayette County 501c3 organization and its goal is to coordinate resources by bringing all areas of the community together to build a safe, healthy, and drug-free Fayette County through education, networking, and advocacy. One of its programs is ENCORE!, and you might want to pursue this Fayette Leadership Program.
It is a nine week program and is dedicated to a different local topic each week and is addressed by community leaders from both the public and private sector. Trust me, when the program is completed, you will have a very good idea just where you might want to give your volunteer hours.
For further information; fayettefactor@gmail.com.
Volunteering at a hospital no longer means emptying bed pans. If volunteering at Piedmont Fayette Hospital interests you here are the facts. The hospital is looking for a few good men and women for the auxiliary volunteer program. This program has many volunteer opportunities across a wide spectrum of service area that includes the gift shop, courtesy golf cart drivers, maternity, medical surgical unit, emergency department, wound care clinic, radiology, information assistance, and rehab/fitness center. The auxiliary group has 16 various departments that welcome volunteers. Many service areas offer flexible schedules whether during the day, night or weekends.
If you are interested in joining the Piedmont Fayette Auxiliary, contact Kirsten Soriano at 770-719-5758.
When I came here there were maybe three or four non-profit 501c3 organizations, I think I remember the Masonic Lodge was one of them. Now there are about 900 in this county, albeit many of them are groups such as sororities, fraternities and the like.
I have given you two good sources to pursue if giving your time to a worthy organization is at the top of your bucket list. Go for it!
