[nabs-l] volunteering

[Ashley Bramlett]

Lillie,
I suggest you job shadow some people in these fields. Also conduct 
informational interviews which basically means you interview someone in the 
field about their job; ask how they got there, what skills they use, what 
typical duties are like, and what they like and dislike about the job.

Its smart of you to research careers because so many people just take jobs 
they don't like or they go to higher education and study a lot. After 
studying and obtaining a degree, they get jobs and find out they hate the 
field.

Preparing early will help you get a good career and a happy one too.
To volunteer, look at nonprofits.
I assume you want to work with people because psychologists, social workers, 
and nurses all work with people and help them.
For the social work and psychology fields, you could assist in a nonprofit. 
You could help clients.
Some nonprofits need people to perform intake screenings which means you ask 
questions to assess elligibility.
You could do that. I do not know the rules about helping psychologists; they 
may not let you help directly due to the license needed and confidentiality.
But, what I'm thinking is psychologists lead support groups all the time. 
Maybe you could help facilitate them.
I know agencies often take office volunteers, but I think what you're 
seeking is more hands on with clients.

If talking to people in crisis interests you, there are nonprofits who need 
hotline volunteers. Although, I'm not sure you can do it in summer as the 
training is so long and they often require at least a 6 month commitment.
You could also work at a homeless shelter assisting their case managers.
You could do presentations at the homeless shelter to their clients on a 
life topic like nutrition as long as you know it and research it well.
If working with the prison population is of interest, you can lead classes 
in a jail or prison if they run a volunteer program.
For the nursing, I don't know. That is such a specialized field requiring 
training to do that intricate work of using the equipment.
I cannot think of a way to help a nurse since you lack the training for 
health care workers.
I know nursing homes take volunteers, so maybe you could assist in a health 
related capacity there.

When I tried to volunteer in   the summer, I found that they wanted a longer 
commitment than I could give. Also I ran into computer issues because not 
all nonprofits let me install jaws.
I hope you find one that works for you. Keep in mind you need to often 
apply, be interviewed, and go through a background check. This takes time. 
My suggestion would be start early! Fill out applications during spring 
break and try to get an interview or two in spring break when you're home. 
Some applications are online, others are a downloadable form which you need 
sighted assistance to fill out.
It can take a few weeks for a background check. So, do start early, 
otherwise the summer will be half over before you are cleared to volunteer.

Good luck.
Ashley

-----Original Message----- 
From: Lillie Pennington
Sent: Wednesday, November 27, 2013 9:57 PM
To: 'National Association of Blind Students mailing list'
Subject: [nabs-l] volunteering

Hello all

Seeing the recent job question sparked a question that had been residing in
the back of my mind for a while, and I'm hoping you all may have some
suggestions.



I am wondering if any of you would know of or have ideas of a volunteering
or job that would preferably help me in my chosen field for the future. I am
pondering the fields of social work, psychology, and nursing. This would
probably be during the summer seeing as I have a heavy courseload during the
school year. I will be sixteen in March, and I would like some experience in
these fields so I could maybe get a more specific idea of what these fields
entail, or if I'd even be interested in them. Any ideas would be
appreciated.

Thanks

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