[humanser] Transportation when on-call?

[Miranda B.]

Hi everyone,

As part of the graduation requirement, my university requires all
residential students to complete community service hours each semester. I
absolutely agree wholeheartedly with this requirement, and I'm not here to
complain by any means. However, I have a quick question.

As I consider community service opportunities for the remainder of my time
in my Bachelors degree (1.5 years), one of my goals is to engage in more
human/social services volunteer work in preparation for pursuing my MSW. One
local volunteer opportunity that I am interested in participating in is with
the sexual assault response program. Volunteers with this program are
required to commit to 4 6-hour on-call shifts per month, outside normal
business hours. I have emailed the prospective supervisor to inquire about
whether my shifts could be split among evenings throughout the month until
9:00 P.M, when the last city bus could get me home from the ER (where I'd be
meeting with victims), or if I could be on-call on Saturdays.

Yes, I realize that I could choose other "more convenient" volunteer
opportunities, but I also recognize that this position would give me very
valuable experience. Moreover, I cannot possibly ask my friends (who have
families of their own) to commit to on-call shifts simply to transport me.
Taxi fares could get very expensive, depending on how many times per month I
was actually called in to help. As I await the supervisor's response, does
anyone have suggestions that I may not be considering? Also, for future
reference, how do you handle transportation for on-call shifts in a paid
employment situation?

Thanks as always for your time and assistance, and have a wonderful weekend!

 

Best wishes, Miranda