[Community-service] new to the group

[Julie J.]

Hello all!

I just joined a couple of days ago.  I'm Julie, living in Nebraska with 
my farmer husband, teenage son and our two dogs, one of which is my 
current guide dog.

I currently volunteer with TeamMates, a mentoring program for Middle and 
High School youth.  I meet with the young lady I mentor once a week 
during lunch at her school.  This is my fourth year volunteering with 
this program.

I like the TeamMates program and will probably continue as long as the 
young lady would like to have a mentor.  However I am looking for other 
volunteering opportunities.  I am specifically thinking of joining a 
group or organization that focuses on community service.  I had joined 
the Lions club in the past, but found that it wasn't a good fit for me.

I want to be a part of a group with younger members.  I am going to be 
40 this year, so I'm not meaning super young! *smile*  Just people 
closer to my age.  I want to be a part of a group that doesn't have a 
major focus on fund raising, but actual community service projects.  I 
also do not want to join a group that is affiliated with a religious 
organization of any variety.  and probably the most important thing for 
me is that the group must have a really positive attitude.

I know that even within the same organization, each local group is going 
to have a bit of a different dynamic.  I'm just not sure what's out 
there or where to start looking.  The newspaper has some info, but I 
can't find any sort of comprehensive list or contact info on how to get 
involved.

I'm hoping the kind folks on this list can give me some ideas of where 
to find what I'm looking for.  Also I would be interested to know what 
strategies people have used to find community service opportunities that 
fit well with their own personal goals and objectives.  I don't want to 
go through another bad experience.

all ideas are most welcome!
Julie