Video: Volunteer

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Published: February 25, 2012

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Visitor Comments: 16

(10) Sidney, March 6, 2012 3:12 AM

Volunteer in a different area

I thinki that the guy should have been told to consider volunteering in a different area than he had been in as an employee. He probably was just burned out and could use a change of scenery.

(9) SusanE, March 1, 2012 5:06 AM

Be Careful When You Volunteer

When RSVP got big in our small town and some people who didn't need to work for money volunteered at our local hospital..... they did jobs that women aides, who needed to work for money were already doing. Four older women lost their much needed minimum wage jobs because volunteers did that work for free.

(8) Ady, February 29, 2012 10:10 AM

Volunteering...

Thanks Lori for your little clip, and well spoken I might add. There is an old saying about the above topic: "There is nothing like the heart of a Volunteer". For most of my life I have volunteered to help out on all sorts of projects, starting when I was a meer teen collecting funds for charity to the present day being a volunteer Rural Fire Officer, community work with our local Rotary Club and so much more. Their is so much self satisfaction from helping out and achieving the out comes in helping others in what ever form it may be. I would strongly recommend to any one to volunteer one's time, knowledge, and skills in helping the community in some way.

(7) Pessy, February 29, 2012 4:33 AM

sorry story

I feel bad for that guy. You must be really self centered to be able to spend your days, and weeks playing golf, working out, and managing your money. Maybe if he wouldn't be so obsessed with himself and his money, it wouldn't need that much managing. If he would spend some of his FREE time (and it all seems like free time to me, the way he's spending it) doing something for someone else, he would be happier without having to spend his money. There are so many ways to make a difference in other people's lives, he can even use his beloved golf, and actually be doing something for someone (like a fundraiser or something) and give meaning to something that was meaningless beforehand. This story has gotten me really worked up. It's simply unbelievable.

(6) Suzanne, February 28, 2012 9:45 PM

Lori, of course volunteering is a noble thing

I just would like to add one thing, however. I've noticed that there are cases where people who are really "out there" volunteering sometimes overlook the fact that charity begins at home. Yes, we might not get any recognition for this in newpapers or award ceremonies but there are alot of children at home who have social or academic problems or old people who are crippled with lonliness and pushed into assisted living homes because their relatives were too busy doing high profile things they get "recognition" for. The quality of their lives is really diminshed because of this, too. I think people should volunteer, of course, but unless there is a true emergency, sometimes the needs of ones immediate families must be looked at first.

SusanE, March 1, 2012 3:19 PM

I agree with you about the high profile volunteering. Charity does indeed begin at home with parents neighbors and friends. Thank you for your insight Suzanne.

(5) Anonymous, February 28, 2012 7:58 PM

Volunteering in an area of one's interest/passion brings extra meaning to life. Thank you for discussing this important topic. I also want to thank you and Aish for providing the close captioning. It makes your already special blogs even more special!

(4) Joyce Oxfeld, February 28, 2012 4:30 PM

Trouble is with my volunteering

Most of my resume and time has been spent volunteering. Eight years in a Hospital doing clerical work. Many years playing violin in community orchestras. Now doing volunteer work at or for Animal Shelters. My paid work on my Resume is sparse and too scattered in types of work. Some of the work was required for me to take by vocational counselors and they were clearly not suitable, and I had to leave.

(3) Anonymous, February 28, 2012 4:09 PM

Thank You SOOO much for providing Closed Captioning

Thank you for providing closed captioning. Its been something i had asked Aish to do in the past, I am really appreciative to see that my suggestion and the suggestions of a few other friends in the Jewish Deaf community was taken seriously. Thank You again. May Hashem give you strength to continue all the great work you do for so many Jews around the world!!

(2) Barbara, February 28, 2012 4:02 PM

many opportunities

One of the reasons I retired at 60 was precisely to have MORE time for volunteering, and at my retirement dinner it was one of the themes. So now I am president of my Hadassah Chapter, active on committees in my shul, subbing at our local day school. Most importantly, though, is my work in Israel with Sar-El (Sherut Le'Yisrael), working on an army base for several weeks a year. To the 70-year-old in Israel, this is a great program that you too can do. Go to sar-el.org for details. Many other opportunities as well, at hospitals, nurseries, soup kitchens, yad lakashish, Livnot, etc. Thanks, Lori, for pointing out that money is nice, but (having never had much to spare after 4 kids in day schools and then college) volunteering our time is even more important. Even cooking a meal for a shut-in, driving a friend to rehab after surgery, bikkur cholim, there are as many opportunities as individuals.

miriam, February 28, 2012 7:48 PM

Lovely to read your comments Barbara. Do you still volunteer with Sar-El. I have been 3 times in the past and would dearly love to go again. When I 'hit' 70 something happened 'emotionally' to me and even though I am Blessed with good health and volunteer here in UK, I am hesitant to apply to Israel (which I love). Any advice? :-)

(1) sharon, February 26, 2012 2:44 PM

Do you know any volunteer programs for women over 70 in israel.? I worked in the health field and am now retired......I also know a couple of other women who would be interested

Anonymous, February 26, 2012 6:04 PM

Contact Melabev of Sharei Zedek, Yad Sarah branches all over the country, and Daat of Hadassah. There are alot of retired medical professionals , volunteering at those places. Kol Hakovod Behatzlacha.

T May, February 26, 2012 7:50 PM

Reply to comment 1

Why don't you start a label GMO campaign- label food/produce genetically modified with organisms or otherwise? Most countries require labeling. Canada and the US don't but people are waking up.Educate yourself: Read up on Monsanto and Dow Chemical and Agent Orange and Agent Orange Ready Corn and Round -up ready Corn and the Sherbrooke Quebec study and Ted talks.com and butterflies and bees or pollinators and bio-diversity and 125,000 Indian farmers commit mass suicide and Monsanto and India and Monsanto and South America and Monsanto and Central America and Monsanto and France and GMO foods and China, and Monsanto and food monopoly, and Michael Taylor and FDA and Monsanto, and Monsanto and drift and organic farmers, and genetically engineered salmon, and Monsanto and limit on scientific testing due to a law case and in control of scientific publishing? My feeling is that prides comes before a fall and the idea that the scientists know it all and can therefore tell us the consumer to sit down and be quiet and they know it all and overlooking that the biotech businesses gave us Agent Orange and DDT and PCB's and dioxin. and glysophate, and infertility, and soil sterilization and death of pro-biotics in the soil, and chelation of minerals in the soil.

Alan S., February 27, 2012 2:14 PM

Really??? This is a reasonable response??? A senior citizen wants to simply volunteer her time, and you want her to get aboard your bandwagon? In my humble opinion, comments here should not be used to espouse a personal mission.

Anonymous, February 28, 2012 7:51 PM

Shalom Sharon, having just responded to Barbara's message, I am just seeing yours. Are you in the UK? If so I would like to make contact with you and share my experiences :-)

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About the Author

Mrs. Lori Palatnik

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Lori Palatnik is a writer and Jewish educator who has appeared on television and radio, and is the author of "Friday Night and Beyond: The Shabbat Experience Step-By-Step," "Remember My Soul - What to do in Memory of a Loved One," and co-author of "Gossip: 10 Pathways to Eliminate It From Your Life and Transform Your Soul." She is a much sought-after international speaker, having lectured in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, U.K., Central America, South America, South Africa and Israel, including featured talks at Yale, Brown and Penn. She lives in the Washington D.C. area, with her husband, Rabbi Yaakov Palatnik. Lori is the Founder of The Jewish Women's Renaissance Project, an international initiative that brings over 1,000 women to Israel each year from ten different countries on highly subsidized programs to inspire them with the beauty and wisdom of their heritage. She is the busy mother of five children, ages 24 to 14; and her son, Zev, just finished serving as a sharpshooter in the IDF. Her weekly video blog, "Lori Almost Live" is a popular feature on aish.com, viewed by over 50,000 people each month.

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Volunteer

Make the time to give of yourselves.

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