<html><head><style type="text/css"><!-- DIV {margin:0px;} --></style></head><body><div style="font-size: 13px;color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family: arial,sans-serif;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">Hi J,</font></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3"> </font></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">These are
good questions. I’ve had many community service experiences throughout my life.
Some I liked and some I did not. I have also encountered problems in
volunteering at offices. Like you I wanted to volunteer in an office to gain
skills and experience for my resume. My goal is to work in a public relations
role or program assistant for employment. These questions are very open ended
but I’ll see if I can address them and go by paragraph; a question per
paragraph. </font></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3"> </font></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3"> </font></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">Q: How as
blind adults can we find community service and stikck with it?</font></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">A: Except
for reading flyers in the community or hard copy newspaper, we can find
opportunities like everyone else. I suggest trying to search a website with
postings for volunteers such as </font><a href="http://www.volunteermatch.com/"><font color="#0000ff" face="Times New Roman" size="3">www.volunteermatch.com</font></a><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">.
Also, think about your interests. If you have specific organizations in mind,
find out their local number and call them up and ask for the volunteer
coordinator. I’ve also found many opportunities are posted on their websites
although accessibility varies with a screen reader. Word of mouth also works;
if you belong to a faith community or civic club, asking there for
opportunities may give you ideas.</font></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><font face="Times New Roman"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font size="3"> </font></span><font size="3">Think about your interests and volunteer
somewhere that fits that.</font></font></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3"> </font></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">Q: How can
we volunteer in our professions?</font></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">How can we
stick with it long term?</font></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3"> </font></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">A: This is
hard to answer without knowing anything like your professional goals and
education. Some professions require certain degrees and/or certifications in
order to use professional skills. If your goal is to work with immigrants, low
income or minorities you might try obtaining a long term internship. Unpaid
internships are like volunteering. You might think about applying to Americorps
which is a year long service project.</font></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">If your goal
involves serving the public, you might try volunteering for the government. If
you are near DC, the federal Smithsonian museums and even the white house
visitors center need volunteers which can be long term. You do not have to work
directly with the public at the museums; they have options for behind the
scenes work. If it is accessible, online opportunities are available.</font></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><font face="Times New Roman"><font size="3">Also, the
library of congress accepts volunteers for long term commitments. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></font><font size="3">You can assist in research, give tours, or be
at the information desk. It depends on your</font><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><font size="3">
</font></span><font size="3">interests.</font></font></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3"> </font></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">Smithsonian
Museums:</font></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">https://www.si.edu/volunteer</font></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3"> </font></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">Library of
Congress:</font></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">https://www.loc.gov/visit/volunteer/</font></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3"> </font></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">If you are a
recent graduate of college, there are paid and unpaid internships in the
federal government.</font></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">Another idea
is to ask friends and family if you can work in their office a little bit. If
you can network, this helps finding opportunities.</font></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3"> </font></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3"> </font></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">Q: Have you
volunteered somewhere you did really not like?</font></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">A: I cannot
say I hated anything but some experiences were boring for me. For instance, I helped
preparing the plastic eggs for the church egg hunt and that seemed tedious to
stuff eggs. Also, I’ve participated in mass mailing preparation; tasks like
simply sticking lables on envelopes was repetitive.</font></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3"> </font></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">Hope this
helps. If you have more specific questions, let us know.</font></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3"> </font></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3"> </font></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">Oh, and
forms interfacing with the agency forms can be a challenge that I cannot find a
work around for except for writing such info down in accessible way such as
Microsoft word and someone copying it to the form.</font></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3"> </font></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">Sincerely,</font></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">Ashley</font></p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">
</font><br><br><blockquote style="color: black; padding-left: 5px; font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; margin-left: 0px; border-left-color: rgb(0, 0, 255); border-left-width: 2px; border-left-style: solid;">-----Original Message-----
<br>From: J w via Community-Service <community-service@nfbnet.org>
<br>Sent: Jun 25, 2019 8:11 PM
<br>To: Community Service Discussion List <community-service@nfbnet.org>
<br>Cc: J w <jmail201586@yahoo.com>
<br>Subject: [Community-Service] Community Service
<br><br><div class="yahoo-style-wrap" style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><div>Hi!</div><div>I'm interested in community service work. I wanted to ask a question though.</div><div>How as we as blind adults find community service work and actually stick to the work. I mean I have volunteered in the past, but I forgot about the experience. I want to start volunteering again and put the experience on my resume for professional purposes.</div><div>Another question I have is how can we volunteer in our professions? I know there are volunteer opportunities for a day, one month one year. How can I stick with this. I hope that I'm making sense. And another question that I have is how many volunteered in an opportunity that you really didn't like.</div><div>Thank you</div><div>J<br></div></div></jmail201586@yahoo.com></community-service@nfbnet.org></community-service@nfbnet.org></blockquote><br><br><br></div></body></html>