Either of your two ever done any volunteering? I need to get out the house and this seems like something I could do. There are a few charity shops near me so I guess they would be the easy options but I'd like to hear some honest answers on the benefits and drawbacks from your own experiences.
Which charity/volunteering has the best people and fun?
What sort? I recommend not doing anything National Trust related, it's all standing around for hours with only recent retirees for company. Anything related to the council or government will likely end you up in endless meetings and bureaucracy. Posting this from the homeless shelter where I'm just finishing a night shift, I quite like it here. Interesting interactions with a range of people both volunteers and the guests. It can be a bit of a stress but it's good to know you're doing something directly positive. I found volunteering in a soup kitchen or food bank was similar (and shorter hours).
Most of the people you'll work with will be minor bureaucrats or aspiring politicians and churchfolk.
>>456508 Yes but most people stick with volunteering regularly at the one place so if you don't get on with the handful of available women at one, there's rarely a fast turnaround. You'd have to volunteer at a range of different places to increase your chances. Luckily for you there's no notice period when you want to quit.
>>456498 Spent some time at a Barnardos charity shop back in 2003, it was a laugh with a few of the older folk there to have somthing to do, and the college kids getting sent in for community experience. We also got first dibs on anything that came in before it even went on the floor, had a load of CD's and PS2 games etc for pennies.
Nowadays it's not like that, I still pop in once in a while and chat to the manager who is still doing the same job. Everything has to be properly catalogued, value checked and so on. Ebay gets a go on anything that looks worth a few quid, but apparently it's more hassle than it worth as nobody actually wants to pay the average price.
