Trudi
How long have you been volunteering with
SBC Volunteer Centre?
Since
September 2001. I was one of the first
volunteers to start when the Centre first opened.
What was your first job in the Jewish Community?
Previous
to the Volunteer Centre opening, I stuffed envelopes at the JNF, helped with mail-outs
for the Vancouver Holocaust Centre, and assisted in the Isaac Waldman
Library
.
How many organizations have you volunteered
with in the last 10 years?
At
least sixteen. I have worked at Science
World for 17 years (twice a week) and I am still there.
What are your reasons for volunteering?
Spare
time, meet friends, have a reason to get up in the morning and get out of the house.
What do you like best about your involvement?
I
have made a nice group of friends to go out as a group, dinner club, shows, etc. Contributing something to the Community. People appreciating your time and
effort makes you feel good.
What new skills have you learnt?
Coming
out of my shyness especially while volunteering for Expo ¡¯86.
By volunteering at the information booth at Science World, I have learnt
lots about
Vancouver
. I now approach tourists on the street
to see if I can help them.
How has this enriched your life?
By
staying at home, you wouldn¡¯t see anyone, learn anything new or get out of your
usual environment. I have learnt to
appreciate life from all my experiences.
After Jack (my husband) died volunteering helped me not to wallow in sadness and
led me back to a life of normalcy.
It helped tremendously to get out of the house and meet people.
So what could you tell people to encourage
them to volunteer?
For people who have time on their hands, get out of the
house, find a job where you can meet people, help people and have a purpose in life;
keep your mind active. One of the best
things in life is to laugh. If you
stay at home alone, you will not accomplish this.