Puzzled About Volunteering? RAP May be a Fit for You
by Sally Rech
Volunteering is a piece of a puzzle in someone’s else’s life. If you think about it, we are a puzzle piece in the overall picture of our groups, our communities, our nation and our world. Your piece of the puzzle fits somewhere. You just have to find the right groove.
Right now, others are searching for people who will fill the holes in their lives – your piece of the puzzle might fit in a number of places, but you need to search for the picture puzzle that also completes you. Volunteering for RAP can fill in a hole for a person living with Parkinson’s Disease (PD) to improve their quality of life. It can also fill the gap in your section of the puzzle.
The puzzle pieces for people living with PD are slightly different from those living with other chronic diseases. There is no cure for this progressive, degenerative disease, yet the PD community is close-knit and keeps its big picture in mind. Your special puzzle piece might fit one or more of these people’s puzzles, but you never know until you try it. Move it around. See if it’s a fit. See if it brings you joy, gives you confidence or helps you make new friends. All these are benefits of volunteering.
RAP has a number of holes in its puzzle and we’re looking for puzzle pieces to fill them. The opportunity to test your puzzle piece with RAP is just a click away. We can always use help in:
- Events – set up, staffing, clean-up
- Marketing – folder stuffing, signage, distribution, creative thinking, writing
- Exercise – assisting classes, cleaning equipment
- IT – website updates, software knowledge
- Social Media – updates
- Photography – sorting, documenting
- Fundraising – community outreach,
- Organizing – filing, online software, name tags
If you have a skill, or want to learn a new one, bring your puzzle piece to the RAP picture. Find out if these opportunities are right for your puzzle piece. We think you’ll find it to be a perfect fit!
Note: The author is a member of the RAP Board of Directors and the RAP Volunteer coordinator. To volunteer or get more information about volunteering with RAP click here or call (410) 382-3843.