Opportunities to volunteer and help the community come far and wide. From passing out blankets at homeless shelters, to picking up trash on the side of the road. All good, but is it the right for for you?
This is a problem that Bangor Livable Communities is trying to solve. Wednesday was its first volunteer fair.
Over 25 non-profits from all over the state attended the event. Organizations ranging from the American Red Cross to the Girl Scouts were in attendance looking for help.
“Now the opportunities in that room was amazing, stuff I didn’t even know and I’ve been doing this for a long time," said Marcia Young.
A long time indeed for Young, who has been a registered nurse for 35 years while also volunteering her time for charity as well. Young knows the importance of helping others because some day she may be the one asking for help.
“I feel like if we have an opportunity to give back, we need to. For the grace of god I could be one of those people who is homeless and needs help, who knows," she added.
Karen Campbell from BLC used focus groups and other studies to come up with the idea of this event.
“We found that one of the things the community was really looking for was sort of a one stop shopping for opportunities to volunteer," she said.
So the one-stop-shop idea was born.
The idea was for people who have the time or the desire to volunteer to come in and meet with representatives from local groups and organizations to find the right fit based on personal involvement, time commitment, or location.
The right person to be a volunteer? Anyone.
“I don’t want people to think they can’t volunteer because of their economic status, or they don’t have a college degree or whatever. Anybody can volunteer," Young mentioned
Couldn't make it out to the fair but still trying to get involved? Every non-profit at the event posted volunteer opportunities at the link below:
