Volunteer
My parents were quite involved in the community; whether that was because of us or because they genuinely enjoyed it I’m not sure, but I’m tempted to think it was the latter. I can say without a doubt that seeing my parents involved in community played a big part in my love of helping others by giving some of my time.
Dad coached hockey from the time I was 3 or 4 up to my High School days. Mom did the girl guide leader thing. I’m pretty sure dad was also on the hockey association committee. Mom is currently the president of the local Canoe Club (she has also held other roles). I’m guessing they’ve probably done more and that I’m simply not aware of them.
Here is a list of places where I currently volunteer:
Calgary Public Library
I used to volunteer here on a weekly basis but I haven’t volunteered in about a year due to a role change at work that has made it very difficult to pick up a shift. Most of my volunteering hours with CPL were spent helping with the adult computer literacy classes (from how to use a mouse to surfing the internet). I also enjoyed the “computer drop-in” times where patrons could come in for help.
Fallcon
This seemed like a natural evolution from my love of playing boardgames. I am an Ambassador with Fallcon which means that I do all sorts of things both during the annual convention and at other fallcon events like: teach games, work at the game library, host games, be a general happy welcoming face to new and experienced gamers!
Calgary Comic and Entertainment Expo
2013 will be my first year volunteering with the Calgary Comic and Entertainment Expo. Another extension of my nerdiness. The time commitment on this one seems reasonable. I’m sure there are opportunities to help out a lot more but we’ll start easy with a couple shifts helping out the exhibitors and go from there.