How Do You Volunteer Professional Services? 366
keefus_a writes "My wife and I usually take a week long vacation in the Spring and I tossed out the idea of volunteering abroad. Neither of us has a problem with doing manual labor, or whatever task is needed. However, I thought it might be of some value, and substantially more rewarding than our daily grind, if we could volunteer our professional services (I'm a network guy and my wife has a master's degree in counseling). The problem is that I haven't found any resources for doing so on a short-term basis. So I ask Slashdot. Has anyone ever done short-term volunteer work in your professional field? What organization did you contact? Or are we better off donating money to a particular cause and just working on a tan?"
Church (Score:3, Insightful)
Find the nearest church. The leaders there will be able to help you find a cause.
Your timing is suspect.. (Score:5, Insightful)
Based on recent tragedies in Haiti. If your just offering to provide local general volunteer services, approach your local charitable organizations that provide those types of volunteer services and let them direct you.
If you are considering volunteer work in disaster areas, please.. please, do not do it. There are professionals trained in those types of things, the last thing they need is for a group of volunteers who went to help out, suddenly requiring rescuing of their own. After the main disaster cleanup is done, and the areas are safe, then offer yourself up as a volunteer, but till then, stay out of dangerous areas.
with all due respect (Score:3, Insightful)
Every country has an excess of networking engineers, and the last thing people need during a disaster is Deanna Troi.
Unless you have an expertise in food distribution/agriculture, medicine, or communication - in the first case, you are probably in the military or academia; in the second, Medecins sans Frontiers; and in the third, in the military or amateur radio emergency societies - you will probably just be excess baggage.
Of course, if you are not just looking for an excuse for holiday and want to help at home, where you will actually be useful in smaller scale projects looking for locals, go for it!
Re:Church (Score:4, Insightful)
With the expected amount of bias, of course.
Geek Corps (Score:3, Insightful)
it sounds... (Score:2, Insightful)
like your daily grind is unsatisfying.
Do what you love instead-- that will be infinitely more rewarding to you and the world than working a "job" and trying to "do good" by volunteering.
Find the thing that is right for you and focus all your energy into that-- good things will abound. You will not need a vacation, and your sense of duty and accomplishment will be sated. Plus, you will be doing the thing that only you are qualified to do-- the thing that you want to do.
You don't tend to find it because it isn't useful (Score:5, Insightful)
Most professional type stuff requires longer terms. The reason is that often you are dealing with complex situations and a week isn't even really enough time to learn the system, much less accomplish anything. I think about where I work and if you can in and said "Hey I'd like to help out for a week," I'd have to say "no thanks" because you couldn't do anything useful. While I could certainly use more sysadmin type help, it'd take longer than a week to get you trained up on what we've got.
Short term volunteer work is almost always going to be grunt labour type stuff because there's almost always a need since it doesn't pay well and it takes little to no training. Your more advanced skills aren't likely to be used.
Have a vacation AND do something for people (Score:5, Insightful)
Take your vacation somewhere where your tourism dollars will really help the locals: Goa, India (or just travel in India); lots of places in South America; Phuket, Thailand; etc. Skip big tourist drawing areas like the Bahamas where your money goes into the pockets of wealthy hotel and tourist industry owners.
Stay at more modest accommodations. Spend your money on small local service providers, food providers, crafts makers, and so forth. Tip them well.
By doing these things you'll stretch your vacation dollars farther, be more in touch with the local culture, have a good time, and help disadvantage people just trying to make an honest living.
Re:Short-term volunteering (Score:2, Insightful)
We have a winner. Finalize, cleanup and close.
By the time you've gotten in tune with the rest of the band, the gig's over. I'm surprised that needed telling to "professionals", to be on the blunt side of honest.
Donate the money IMHO (Score:4, Insightful)
I volunteered to do the web programming and graphics a few years back for a small organization. The thing it's just like work. There are deadlines, pressure, unrealistic requirements, the whole deal. And just like real tech work, it's not easy to hit the ground running on day one as there's a learning curve to how they work and operate. It's not something that's easily broken up in 4 hour casual chunks just when you want to do it.
I'd say just do habitat for humanity or send money or something. But don't try and be a network admin for a week somewhere. It wouldn't be fun to have you totally screw up their firewall on your last day before heading back to your job. Send them money so they can contract local services where someone is doing it as their job.
Re:just say no (Score:3, Insightful)
Shortsighted Thread is Shortsighted (Score:3, Insightful)
Construction and Demolition specialists are needed to repair (or demolish and rebuild) structures.
For many of the people in those categories Haiti will be their first "real" disaster scene. Others may have previous experience and volunteer to help even though their "day job" isn't rebuilding nations after a catastrophic event.
While I agree that people should only go into a disaster area like Haiti as part of an organized recovery effort I don't believe the "Don't go there because you don't work for [insert disaster group]" attitude this post and the grandparent take is at all productive - These organizations do not have the manpower or expertise to do it all themselves.
Just my $3.50 as someone who has gone in after fires and floods to bring skeleton infrastructure up and support further recovery.
It depends on your goal (Score:3, Insightful)
If you want to make a difference, work the extra week at your normal job, take the payout on vacation time (assuming this is an option) and whatever you would have spent on travel, and donate the cash to the charity effort of your choice. It will go a long long long way.
With one week's time, doing anything professionally is a major resource sink. Just imagine if you (or your wife) were to walk into a new job, where very few others really knew what you did, and asked you "go make yourself worthwhile in one week". You would barely be cognizant of the position's needs in one weeks time, much less provide any real benefit to them.
On the other hand, if you want to merely feel like you did something useful, go fly yourself somewhere, nose around in someone else's business for a week, then up and leave. It's sure to generate some head scratching, but not much else.
Re:with all due respect (Score:2, Insightful)
Really? So, in a place where thousands of people are burying whatever dead loved ones they're lucky enough to find, everybody will be just fine once the running water's fixed?
There's some people over here [samhsa.gov] who might disagree with that perspective.
Re:Have a vacation AND do something for people (Score:3, Insightful)
Detroit fits all of those requirements and you don't need a passport!
Re:with all due respect (Score:1, Insightful)
I think OP was criticizing counsellors who see themselves as Troi, not counsellors in general. Counselling takes time. You can't just use your power of empathy and be on your way by the end of the episode.
Did he mention a disaster? No. (Score:4, Insightful)
Did he mention a disaster? No. Did he mention Haiti? No.
Your snide comments are not helpful.
The poster wants to volunteer his technical skills abroad in an area with need. I'm sure there are plenty of places in the world who could use some professional expertise. You yourself suggest that he can help at home, but perhaps he'd like the experience to help abroad.
Unless you have an expertise in food distribution/agriculture, medicine, or communication ... you will probably just be excess baggage.
Really? The Peace Corp seems to be very active in building schools, hospitals and other infrastructure. They aren't excess baggage.
Re:with all due respect (Score:2, Insightful)
Actually they do need counselors during disaster for both the rescuers and the rescued.
I have a friend to volunteers with the Red-Cross to counsel folks that have returned.
Would you believe even the counselors need counseling.
Re:Why Volunteer? (Score:5, Insightful)
I'd rather be robbed by a poor man than robbed by a rich man. At least the poor man has an excuse, and a reason. The rich man has neither.
If I'm going to be exploited, I'd rather not be exploited by a Ferengi.
Re:Try the Unitarians (Score:3, Insightful)
Religion is like politics; don't look at the church, don't look at the party, look at the leader himself. Illinois has had good leaders from both parties, and bad leaders from both parties as well. All denominations have good preachers and bad.
That said, I think Pat Robertson is a tool of the devil.
Re:just say no (Score:5, Insightful)
Some people climb mountains on vacation. They're out in the cold, possibly getting rained or snowed on, sleeping on hard ground, straining muscles and risking serious injury. Yet still they call it their 'vacation', and no one argues.
This guy doesn't mind the type of work he does, and he likes the idea of helping other people in his free time. While he's doing it, he's going to visit novel places in other countries, discover new cuisines, learn about different cultures and lifestyles, and have a whole office full of new friends who are glad to see him and want to show him a good time. The locals will know the good places to eat, the fun things to do, the little hidden sights and pleasures that you can't find in your travel guide. He can pull CAT5 during the day, then walk outside and drink rum while the sun sets over the beach.
What's so bad about that? Different people relax in different ways.
Re:Doing service brings joy in life! (Score:3, Insightful)
There's tons of people in the US that would need some help...
And if vacationing...spending your $$'s within the US helps out the local economy, and Lord knows we need all the help we can get here in these times.
Re:Desktop/network support for women's health clin (Score:2, Insightful)
I even reinstalled the secretary's Windows 98 PC with Ubuntu 9.04 and OpenOffice and told her it was Windows Vista. (HA!)
Is this trolling? You went to volunteer at random medical establishments and installed Linux on random computers, while lying about what you were doing? Seriously? And what do you expect to happen when a maintenance issue arises and some records cannot be obtained?
Also, what about supporting your local adoption support group? I realise that it is not fashionable to cheerlead adoption, in the way that the right to abort seems to be celebrated. Do you realise how many more women's lives you would help if you did not throw every girl with an unwanted fetus into your political war by seeing yourself as liberating them, when in fact all you are doing is putting new emotional pressures on them? Stop misleading yourself that the alternatives are "abort" and "leave school and look after". Instead you could educate them about the thousands of families looking to take care of children and who often cannot have children of their own.
disclaimer: this post is not speaking for or against abortion,just speaking against dragging those who find themselves pregnant into the war.
...your life and the fruits of your labor... (Score:4, Insightful)
It doesn't, unless that's ALL you want to do. We have two words for people who care only for their own needs and no one elses; infants and sociopaths.
Here, let me look these up for you:
compassion [wikipedia.org]
empathy [wikipedia.org]
Re:Easy... (Score:3, Insightful)
Well, each has his own opinions, sure. And I enjoy my holidays just as the next guy. But when Mother Theresa comes in, and some dude tells her to take it easy -- that just gives me a bad taste in my mouth.
Other names for collectivism... (Score:4, Insightful)
What you're referring to as collectivism, I usually call family, friendship and community.
Have you ever noticed how lonely and miserable it gets in your Randian paradise?
Take two worlds, one in which everyone looks out for each other, and the other in which everyone looks out for themselves. I don't know what their official designations would be, but the common nicknames for them would be "Heaven" and "Hell."
Re:Church (Score:2, Insightful)
Leviticus 19 [biblegateway.com], verse 27 [biblegateway.com]. The old testament, in particular Deuteronomy and Leviticus, are not particularly friendly or caring, and don't seem to mind about a lot of people, and I see no reason why the naturally un-hirsute would be an exception.
Of course, if you're a Christian or have Christian-esque values (and I'm assuming you have/are, since you're posting on a western forum about religious matters, and are calling it the "Bible" and not the "Torah" or "Koran"), you should remember that Jesus basically threw out the rulebook (although he'd have been executed on the spot for explicitly saying so and thus wouldn't have gotten his message out, so you have to read between the lines) - see
If you want to be a judgemental, apocryphal prick, then Christianity is the wrong religion for you (or you could take the tact of some Christians and just ignore Jesus' teachings). So basically, God's (revised) message is that it's within His ability to forgive you of the *mighty* sin of trimming your beard, and that He's not down with people giving you grief about it. /rant
* These especially apply to those fire-and-brimstone preachers. It always amazes me how they quote old testament and Paul's Letters, whilst slyly skipping over Jesus' direct condemnations of their behaviour - I imagine if He came back, he'd explode with fury, Sunday-market-at-the-temple style.
You're the one calling someone a sociopath (Score:3, Insightful)
You're the one calling someone a sociopath
Now, now, read what I wrote, I also allowed for the possibility that they were an infant... :-)
You're the one who's blindly being ideological
Actually, I'm being blindly experienced. I was 17 once upon a time too, and struck out on my own path as well, angry at the world.
Now, I'm a grey-haired father of several and blissfully married for 20 years, and I can tell you, there is precious little joy in extended solitude. We're social animals, and while heroic stands against the mob are occasionally necessary -- and I've made them at the price of blood both metaphoric and real -- most of the joy in my life comes from my duty to others.
If you're arguing that small towns can be myopic and hidebound, I'm with you there. If you're saying your high school is a hothouse and microcosm of all society's ills, I keenly remember.
But gee, Darth Crowley, if you're saying charity is useless and that you are not your brother's keeper, then I only have one thing to ask:
Are you happy with your life?
Re:Your timing is suspect.. (Score:3, Insightful)
You get experience by helping out in small local disasters until you have a solid understanding of the complex high-pressure logistics involved in dealing with major ones.
Learning how to participate in the smooth delivery of massive amounts of goods, or in life-or-death rescue efforts, is probably more effectively done when you're not at a serious language disadvantage (or does the average couch potato speak Haitian Creole?) and being shot at.
Sincerely,
Former boyfriend of an international disaster relief expert who actually does know her shit.
Re:Have a vacation AND do something for people (Score:1, Insightful)
Re:Church (Score:3, Insightful)
I know this better than probably most on Slashdot. I'm fairly well acquainted, in fact, and could provide verses for most of what you listed.
"All are forgiven" sounded more like a "all go to heaven" type of statement. I don't think that's Biblical, which is ironic since he mentioned some extremely specific Biblical passages in his post :)
Regarding "redfine terms to return to God," not sure that's quite accurate. The terms were always the same. God, through His Son, provided a way so that His Son could fulfill those terms vicariously/substitutionarily (I don't think that's a word... hehe). He didn't redefine them, He fulfilled them.
Points 7 and 8 are the major issue I wanted to raise with my simple little post, though. Just "asking" isn't what gets you forgiven... repentance seemed to be a pretty big deal.
Re:Desktop/network support for women's health clin (Score:2, Insightful)
disclaimer: this post is not speaking for or against abortion
Just because you claim it doesn't make it true.
I realise that it is not fashionable to cheerlead adoption, in the way that the right to abort seems to be celebrated.
Apparently you do not. If you did, you would realize that no one is trying to make adoption illegal, hence adoption doesn't need so called 'cheerleading.'
OK, not quite following you, but... (Score:3, Insightful)
Tell you what. I'll give you the point. Maybe I'm missing the attraction of solitary existence. By all means, Jah-Wren Sartre, enlighten me. Show me the advantages of solipsism. Run down the virtues of extended solitude. Thrall me with the wonders of a life spent apart.
A cogent, valid argument (Score:3, Insightful)
Sure. Your reasoning is sound, and your argument holds together.
And if you honestly believe what you just wrote, and you're past the age of thirty, then I'm sorry. I truly am.
Re:Desktop/network support for women's health clin (Score:1, Insightful)
what is going on with this post? this is my second read through of the thread, and despite it being an obvious troll as several respondents have since picked up on, it seems to have been moderated right up.
(1) thousand of women did not die every year from back alley abortions - why ruin your cause with nonsense?;
(2) the average abortionist is not significantly older than the average doctor - the "average abortionist is over 60 years old" I expect was completely made up;
(3) if you are concerned about reporting requirements, you do not change the operating system on computers processing medically privileged information and then lie about it;
(4) OBSD 3.3 hasn't seen any updates for over five years.
come on, moderators, don't be suckered in by the obvious pro-choice position - Every fact the OP stated was made up, and what he/she claims to have done would be dangerous to the continued operation of the clinic.
Re:...your life and the fruits of your labor... (Score:3, Insightful)
I can't help but think that "empathy" is the cry of the loser having lost out in their social wager. Almost everybody cares about their own needs--claiming to care for others is just an individuals way of trying to establish the reinforcement of their personal safety net in event of failure.
Empathy is an instinct that, like many other human characteristics, is normally distributed. (sociopaths are outliers on this curve).
So, there are two possiblities: you have drawn the conclusion you have because your empathy levels fall below the mean, and since you cannot experience empathy you have come up with a very odd definition (much like someone who cannot see trying to define "red").
On the other hand, you may experience normal levels of empathy (e.g. you see someone fall over and you automatically wince) but are for some reason coming up with some rational sounding explanation which confuses empathy with some abstract cognition.