[NABS-L] finding vollunteer opportunities

[andrew edgcumbe]

mind you it would not be practical to go that particular animal
shelter  because 45 minutes away i know you were using that as an
example.

Just that my mind doesn't work the way I want it and  I am not the
most creative and to be honest i find it very hard to communicate what
I want and very hard to very hard to communicate what i want to do
even in the simple.
I just find that i get easily frusterated very easily  about something
then i tend to back down.

The hard part for me is trying to find any counciling serves that can
council blind people as  sometimes i hope it can lead to something
that can help me with even my daily life and i had even difficaulty
when it comes to hobbies and  stuff and just feeling part of things
even when it comes to hobbies.
i will use card games for example  I find that people  or i been in
cases where people have not given me my turn at a bord game or card
game and stuff like that.


in fact I had been in a day program just to get out of the house but
basically they were not giving me turns at like crockinal and they
never gave me chance to play yuker or whatever and sometimes  come
across people quite often that seem very un interested in showing me
the game or seems that way and  i guess i just struggle with just
being able to be included in games and stuff like that i know that is
a different thing then  vollunteering but i never gotten exposure to
many games.

On 2/18/24, Brian Buhrow <buhrow at nfbcal.org> wrote:
> 	hello Andrew.  Okay, so you like animals.  I'll use that as an example.
> Perhaps there is
> an animal shelter near to you.  Most animal shelters that I'm aware of have
> a great need for
> volunteers.  Now, I know you said they say they don't take blind volunteers,
> but maybe if you
> go in there and you say something like, I'd really like to help out.  Maybe
> I could help clean
> the aquariums, or take out the garbage, or answer the phones and help field
> calls.  Maybe that
> shelter has a community day where the community is invited to come and visit
> the shelter and
> learn about it. You could go and talk with the folks who work there and find
> out what they do
> and, maybe, how they do it. Then, you can think about the jobs you learn
> about and decide on
> one that you think you could do.  Then, you could go back to that shelter
> and tell them you'd
> like to help with that specific job.  It needs to be a simple thing, at
> least in the beginning,
> so they can get to know you and to know how you work.  If they say no, then
> you might ask if
> they have a related job that needs doing.  If they still say no, you might
> ask if they know of
> any other animal care facilities that you might talk with.  The point I'm
> trying to make here is
> that persistence  and creativity is key here.  If you ask enough people in
> enough ways the same
> question, eventually, you get the answer you want.  It is possible to be
> polite and persistent
> at the same time.
>
> 	I'm not sure what to tell you about your dark feelings except encourage you
> to find a
> counsellor who can help you work through them.  I know that can be very
> difficult, but I think
> it is very important you work on that aspect of yourself, first.  I'm not a
> resident of Canada,
> so can't really speak to what professional assistance might be available.
>
> Hope that helps.
> -Brian
>
>