Work at home moms volunteer their valuable time.

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Stay at Home and Work at Home Moms Make Special Volunteers

by Catina Betoncur

Busy moms know that with the flurry of paying bills, making doctor and dentist appointments, feeding our families and cleaning the house, life’s true meaning sometimes seems to fall by the wayside. Human to human (adult with adult) contact is a vital link to our very existence. Nevertheless, because of the busy schedules of most people free time to volunteer is usually not feasible. Moms that work at home, however, in addition to the many other benefits, also enjoy the benefit of having flexible hours and being able to contribute when others can not. For those of us that work at home, it is a perfect opportunity to reach out and touch a life. We can help out when the majority of other volunteers are working their 9 to 5.

Volunteering may be a wonderful way for stay at home moms to get more time with "adults". Psychologists cite volunteer work as an almost magical way to cheer up someone who feels depressed or lonely and a wonderful thing to do for one’s mental and emotional health. Instant positive self-esteem is another benefit of being a volunteer. Volunteering also gives those of us that work at home an opportunity to interact with others and be sociable, to enjoy the mental and emotional stimulation of being with others in new situations, something some of us can miss by working at home.

If you're a work at home mom and are interested in using your flexible schedule to become a volunteer, a wonderful way to express your compassion is to volunteer your time to worthy organizations or programs that provide for the needs of those in our community without hope or help. Daytime hours are probably the most critical time for these organizations to find help because so many would-be volunteers work daytime business hours, yet that makes your time and generosity even more valuable and opens up opportunities for those of us that work at home to fulfill a special need. Being a mom and leaving my full-time job in education in May 2005, I have had the flexibility to volunteer my time with organizations whose missions I believe in.

Community service is a way to provide a practical need to organizations that are generally understaffed and depend on financial donations of businesses and private donors, which is increasingly fading. When you volunteer your time you make a contentious effort to see someone else’s needs above your own. You may not always be able to identify with a particular group or individual’s situation, but you can be there to show that you care. After the hurricane disasters, a tremendous outpouring of community support arose. I am thoroughly convinced that none of the hundreds of volunteers regretted even a single moment of their service. Yet, it should not take a natural disaster or other catastrophe to motivate people to give of their time.

When you find a time that you can live with--stick to it. Just as making appointments or eating times are established you should work your community service around a schedule. You are more likely to be faithful to your commitment if you the times and days you can definitely keep and be there. Commitment is probably the greatest challenge when you volunteer. Someone else depends of your service. They get used to your face and your voice and your unique gifts or talents. I look at the calendar of available times and then check my calendar and schedule appropriately. It is disappointing on both ends to not be able to keep your scheduled time. I also look at a couple of different times and days to reschedule.

Some ways that you can lend a hand are in areas of feeding the needy, office support, filing and organizing areas that have become neglected, answering busy phone lines at a help center, visiting people in a hospital or nursing home, providing spiritual care, or just taking people without transportation to appointments. You should also become a regular member of an organization that fits your lifestyle. Not everyone volunteers because they have a concept that they will have to be on a phone line speaking with someone in a critical situation or visiting someone who is disabled or sad. You should try out different areas and find one that ignites your passion and then continue to do it. Bring others alongside you, too. There can’t be too many volunteers.

There are so many wonderful benefits to being a volunteer. Not only does the organization benefit but you do too. There is a deep sense of personal satisfaction and peace within your own soul. You did something for someone other than yourself. You are in a unique situation to benefit from volunteering during the day because you work at home.

A few hours a week in between your business is worth a lifetime of joy. So, what are you waiting for? Take advantage of your work at home lifestyle to volunteer right now and discover your true joy and life’s true meaning.

Catina Betoncur is a single mother of one son, freelance writer and poet, and ministry leader for children and single mothers.