Soccer Photos for Youth Teams

The project:
Shoot two soccer games for youth club soccer, and share the photos with parents and other family members.

Time:
4 hours (2 hours shooting; 2 hours downloading, editing and uploading)

Why bother?
This continues to be a fun way to volunteer a skill I enjoy practicing. I'd be taking photos of my girls anyway, but shooting the whole team is rewarding because the other parents are happy to have action shots of their young athletes. In the digital age, it's no skin off my hide to provide these photos.

On another note: a players' grandpa, also a photographer, headed off to Bhutan for a month. Before leaving, he loaned me a very nice lens with which to experiment while he's gone. Super fun!

Worth it?
Yes!

Website Maintenance for Local Chorus

The project:
Work on the holiday revamp of the website for a local Sweet Adelines chorus.

Time:
30 minutes

Why bother?
With another competition under their belts, lots of new photos and a busy holiday performance schedule this year, it needed to be updated.

Worth it?
Yes. It's always worth it to help these ladies.

Save a Stranger's Septic Hose

The project:
Flag down an RVer to lead them back to their wayward septic hose.

Time:
5 minutes max.

Why bother?
We were traveling home when the RV in front of us lost its sewer dump hose. The long, large, baby-blue hose accordioned out in front of us, then rolled off the side of the road. It seemed only natural to pull up beside them, wave them off the road, then give them the news.

Worth it?
Yes. They were surprised to have been waved down, and expressed their pure gratitude.

Talk to a Distressed Mom About Education Options

The project:
Answer a mom's questions about educating children at home, and hear her out as she vented about her issues with local institutional school offerings.

Time:
30 minutes

Why bother?
I've learned a lot about home education since jumping into it several years ago, and as former education reporter for a local newspaper, I have some insight to a variety of institutional learning settings in the area. It's fun to share that knowledge with someone who really wants to know, and these discussions serve as affirmations of our decision to go this route.

Worth it?
Yes!

Domain Registration, Website Design and Maintenance for Club

The project:
Register a local club's domain name; build and upload the website.

Time:
Just an hour tonight, though it shouldn't have taken that long. The domain host updated their look, so I spent half the time clicking about trying to find my way back into the web manager's tool area.

Creating the website, however, took HOURS. I did it last year, but the site had fallen out of commission. Tonight, I snapped the deserted domain name back and uploaded the files again. (Two files are missing; rebuild necessary - a project for next week?)

Why bother?
We've had a lot of fun with this activity, silly as it may seem. When locals got together to form a club, I volunteered my newfound (and very rudimentary) website development skills.

Due to moves and life situation changes, births and deaths, the club had become much less active, but new blood is coming in and they're raring to go. I volunteered to shell out for the domain registration and hosting costs this year, and maintain it indefinitely.

Worth it?
Sure, but perhaps too early to tell. Will it help the club members communicate with each other? Will it help other locals interested in the game find each other? If it becomes useful, THEN I think I'll feel more like it was worth the effort.

Take them bags, lots o' bags, to the recycling place

The project:
Once again do the plastic bag roundup and deliver them to the proper recycling receptacle. This week, we also collected plastic bags left at the park near the duck pond (where people stash their bird food bags) and a local roadside where all sorts of plastic bags had drifted against the fence.

Time:
30 minutes, including the two cleanup sites.

Why bother?
Plastic is great. It can seal, have great strength and it's light and portable. But it never goes away. When you're finished with it, it's nowhere near the end of its serviceable life. By recycling plastic, we contribute to creation of new park benches, bags, clothes, and more. Plus, it doesn't end up in THIS big mess humans have created.

Worth it?
Yes.

Sharing Professional Skills for Free

The project:
Respond to parents' requests for photos after yesterday's soccer game.

Time:
40 minutes

Why bother?
A lot of my volunteer projects this year have been one-time deals, in large part because I find it difficult to commit to a regular schedule of appearances at this point in my life. My schedule flexes around my children's activity schedule, husband's work schedule and my random activities. This project seems to have stuck since beginning a few weeks back.

Worth it?
Absolutely rewarding! Parents (and grandparents) tell me they're very happy to have action shots of the kids. The fact that they're free doesn't hurt, either.