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Giving Back . . .

robav8r

robav8r

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Wanted to start a thread about giving back, to the community, to worthwhile causes, to organizations that we all feel strongly about. As I approach "final" retirement, my hope is to spend as much time volunteering as I can. I am particularly interested in food insecurity, and the families that are unable to make sure their kids have enough to eat while in school. One of my favorite charities is Generosity Feeds: https://generosityfeeds.org/

How do you give back, and what are your favorite charitable organizations?
 
robav8r said:
Wanted to start a thread about giving back, to the community, to worthwhile causes, to organizations that we all feel strongly about. As I approach "final" retirement, my hope is to spend as much time volunteering as I can. I am particularly interested in food insecurity, and the families that are unable to make sure their kids have enough to eat while in school. One of my favorite charities is Generosity Feeds: https://generosityfeeds.org/

How do you give back, and what are your favorite charitable organizations?
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Rob, I never took you as a soft-heart for charities. 😆

I don't contribute, but I should...

Thanks for starting a discussion.
 
I've been a volunteer ski patroller for 20 years, which involves not just skiing, but also lots of emergency medicine support for bike races, foot races, community events, etc. Keep doing it until something breaks.

Props for working on food insecurity!
 
I volunteer with my county CERT (Community Emergency Response Team), which is a good vector to help out during large community events, as well as giving assistance during natural disasters, etc.
 
taxi1 said:
I've been a volunteer ski patroller for 20 years, which involves not just skiing, but also lots of emergency medicine support for bike races, foot races, community events, etc. Keep doing it until something breaks.

Props for working on food insecurity!
Click to expand...
My dad was a pro patroller in college, then a volunteer patroller while we were all growing up. I got to see a lot of the "behind the scenes" stuff at our local mountain... and was assigned to be the training victim more than I care to remember. Good times.
 
I volunteer about 100 hours per month at our local non-profit community center where we run a weekly food pantry for those that are food insecure. We also host a low-cost lunch twice a month. Our community center also provides emergency assistance in the form of a $200 grant for those 60 days behind in rent or utilities. I feel it‘s a great way to give back to my local community.
 
taxi1 said:
I've been a volunteer ski patroller for 20 years, which involves not just skiing, but also lots of emergency medicine support for bike races, foot races, community events, etc. Keep doing it until something breaks.

Props for working on food insecurity!
Click to expand...
Food insecurity for kids really, really bothers me. As an enlisted AW and Rescue Swimmer, I usually spent one or two of my liberty days in port while on deployment volunteering my time for local churches, schools etc, usually helping to paint a classroom, or play soccer with the kids. Ultimately, we ended up throwing a huge BBQ with food donated from my ship. Watching kids devour a hamburger or hot dog that was mediocre at best really reinforced the Navy's forward presence and community engagement mission. The more I learn about kids, in our own country, that don't have enough to eat, makes me angry and frustrated. If anyone has any organizations or causes that helps kids and their food insecurity, please post here. Thank you . . .
 
Not for everyone, but I really enjoyed my years as a hobby cop. Lord, you learn a bunch about humanity, and often help where no one else is willing or able. Different levels of commitment and training required, Reserve, Police Aide, Auxiliary, Posse, Community Responder, etc. All good options.

Big +1 for CERT. You can do that with your older children too.
 
robav8r said:
Wanted to start a thread about giving back, to the community, to worthwhile causes, to organizations that we all feel strongly about. As I approach "final" retirement, my hope is to spend as much time volunteering as I can. I am particularly interested in food insecurity, and the families that are unable to make sure their kids have enough to eat while in school. One of my favorite charities is Generosity Feeds: https://generosityfeeds.org/

How do you give back, and what are your favorite charitable organizations?
Click to expand...
After a year teaching in a HS aviation program while on a leave from my airline gig, I decided to stay on substitute teaching. It is easy to get a Substitute Certificate . Seems they are always short of subs, but you make your own sked. Good to support teachers needing time off. I also really believe it is good for our youth to see vets in the classroom. I am sure all of us would be a positive influence. Students of all ages respond well to examples of how their lessons are applied in the real world

Highly recommend substitute teaching,
 
Girls on the Run! Was my sorority's philanthropy in college and I love what they do with young girls women in the community to build confidence. Otherwise, I've really enjoyed doing volunteer work with my University's Alumni Association. It has lead to phenomenal networking, morale during sports seasons, meeting new people, and raising money for scholarships. You can really see how you make a difference to students who may not be able to afford to go to school on their own.
 
I do most of my volunteer work through the VFW, I deliver a food box to a veteran each week, helped build ramps for disabled veterans, been the point of contact for veterans that need assistance with funds for food or gas, I make calls to veterans I know that don't get out much/have medical issues to see how they have been doing, I also participate in veterans events at the schools and their community day.
 
I was a volunteer firefighter for about a year before I left for OCS. Tons of opportunity to help out your local community, whether that be putting out fires, responding to EMS calls, community fundraising/outreach, etc. Not to mention the tons of free training you pick up along the way. It’s wild how many departments are made up of almost all volunteers.

As I rotate to my shore tour, I’m hoping to pick it up again, especially since I’ll be living less than a mile from one of the busier volunteer stations in the area.
 
Couple of thoughts... firstly, I love the concept of this thread. As I look forward to my own retirement this summer, even though my next chapter will be a busy one, my sense is that I'll have more time to devote to things like community building, volunteering, and random acts of kindness.

Whenever I'm moving to a new place, I always like to get a sense of the community. One way to do that is by joining the various community Facebook groups for where you'll be living. You can get a real sense of the good, the bad and the ugly by sifting through these groups. One thing I've noticed about the place I'll be moving to post-retirement, is that people in need will make posts asking for assistance. It might be someone who needs a ride into town, or someone who needs $50 to pay their electric bill.

I'm increasingly convinced that these kinds of micro-philanthropic interactions can be a super effective way of making a difference in people's lives, and in our communities. Just imagine the pure joy of providing an opportunity to someone whose life would be completely transformed by a mere $1000. I'm going to focus on that kind of giving back, once my uniform is neatly folded, in a mothball-filled box in the attic.
 
I volunteer with my Fraternity's almuni organization since I moved back to my hometown/college town. I recently became the President which is frustrating considering I'm on MOB in C7F for the next few months, but we've been able to make it work. It's purely volunteer, but I was a giant fuck-up as a 19 year old and joining that Fraternity genuinely changed my life for the better. I learned basic leaderships, structure, and responsibility that I just really didn't get with a divorced family.

These days I think those college Fraternities are more important than ever to grow boys into men. I know they get a bad wrap, but the colleges and general public have started to come around to the idea that if you lay waste to historical male centric organizations, that vacuum will just be filled by YouTube/TikTok/Podcast grifters who are even less accountable.
 
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