[LaneyDoll]

This is a great thread and I am hoping it gets going again.

I have always done volunteer work.

From age 13 to 17, I visited/volunteered in the nursing home my mom worked for. My sister and I would feed residents, read to them, visit to them and take them for walks/rides in the facility.

From 18 to 19, I did behind the scenes work for Camp Smile A Mile. Nothing fabulous, mostly stuffing envelopes, filling raffle boxes etc.

From 19 to 27, I was one of five core members of the Make-A-Wish Foundation in Alabama. When we merged with the Atlanta chapter, the new group was so big that I no longer felt like I was needed and I moved on to a smaller group closer to home. The fact that I was also a new mom made it harder and harder to interact with the kids-my heart weighed too heavy and burnout set in fast.

So, at 28, I moved on to the Pride group in my hometown. Not what you think, for them, "Pride" meant pride in the town/community. We raised money for schools and community groups like the Boy Scouts. But I left there after a fiasco involving another member. She pushed and pushed for us to host an event that, in hosting, would cost us about 90% of our financial assets. I was the only one who opposed it and did so since there was no guarantee of return. We spent almost everything we had and lost every bit of it. At that point, I decided I really did not want to work and work and work for the funds to be wasted carelessly so I quietly left. And took a much needed break from non-profit.

Almost, three years ago, when I joined the BDSM lifestyle, I started donating time and energy to them. To have finally settled into something that I love, that I see the results of is wonderful. I am not sure how much people will view it as volunteering, but I don't get paid so to me, it counts-lol.