CalSTRS Retired Educator - Winter 2007 eNewsletter

The average teacher who retired in 2005 dedicated 26 years of his or her life to California’s students. For many of them, that dedication did not end when they left the classroom. According to the California Retired Teachers Association, members donated 2.3 million hours of volunteer time this past year. The estimated value of those hours is $38 million, but in reality, the time is priceless to everyone involved.

Why Volunteer?

Volunteering is a great way to use your talents, experience and skills to help others, while contributing to your own community. It’s also proven to be good for you to:

Build self confidence
Renew spirit
Meet new friends
Gain purpose
Stay active mentally and physically
Have fun

Unlike a nine-to-five job, volunteer opportunities are diverse and can be tailored to fit your time, and interests.

Choosing an Opportunity That Suits You

California communities have a wide variety of opportunities for volunteers. It’s a good idea to narrow the possibilities by taking into account what is right for you. Consider your skills, talents and interests and how you can best use them to teach, support and encourage others. Are you developing new skills and interests that you would like to pursue?

Time and Thought

When thinking about volunteering, you can choose just a few hours a day, a week, a month. Some opportunities involve short-term projects like special events. Some, like mentoring, may require a commitment of a year. What type of service interests you? Would you like to work with children, teens, the elderly? Animal rescue, library service or the arts? Perhaps you’d rather work in an administrative capacity for a local nonprofit organization. Any of these would benefit from your participation.

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