Volunteering over the Holidays...

I am not a big fan of the holidays. The holidays are always difficult for me and this year will be no different.   To help me get through the holidays I try to keep busy.  I have learned that volunteering is a great way to spend the holidays!

I started volunteering a couple of years ago.  Last year was my first full year volunteering.  My goal was to volunteer 100 hours in 2011 and I surpassed it by a couple hundred!  I put in a little over 200 hours at Wayside Waifs and around 200 "on-call" hours with the Red Cross.  I know there are people who donate more hours than I do.  There are so many people who donate time to so many organizations.  I tip my hat to all the amazing volunteers!!!

I haven't come anywhere close to volunteering 200 hours at Wayside Waifs or the Red Cross this year.  Between Wayside Waifs, the Red Cross and the road races I volunteered at I may have accumulated 200 volunteer hours total in 2012.  I helped out at a few events for the Johnson County Sheriff's Office this year too although it was just a few hours here and there, nothing compared to their dedicated volunteers!

It has been a tough year with my fire and other things going on.  Losing my kitty Cosmo in the fire and seeing CJ kitty so badly burned made it difficult for me to want to spend time at Wayside Waifs or respond to fires.  I am slowly getting back to a routine but likely won't come close to 100 hours this year at Wayside.  I am disappointed about that but next year will be better!  Love the fur babies too much to not want to spend time with them.  Made it in for a little while over the Thanksgiving holiday this year and plan on spending some time there over the Christmas holiday too! 

I spent this Thanksgiving Holiday being "on-call" for the Red Cross.  Was hoping for no calls because a call would mean someone is facing heartache.  Unfortunately there were a few fires over the Thanksgiving Holiday.  I am thankful I can volunteer and help people.  A pair of sisters lost their home over the holiday.  They just moved out from their moms home and unfortunately will now be moving back in with mom.  That's not necessarily a bad thing but they are 2 young adults trying to make it on their own and have already faced hardship.  I was glad that as a Red Cross volunteer I was able to help them with food and clothing.  They lost everything in the fire.  Their fur babies made it out though!  They have 2 cats and a dog that managed to escape the fire without harm (the sisters were not home at the time of the fire to help get them out safely making it even more remarkable the animals escaped!).  I was a little overwhelmed by their story.  My fur babies mean the world to me and it was nice to see their fur babies meant so much to them and were safe! 

As difficult as it is sometimes to see the devastation a fire or other disaster causes a family, I am thankful I volunteer.  I can't think of a better way to give back! 

I hope everyone has a Safe and Happy Holiday season!