Volunteering boosts their spirits, skills
When Marya Wolfman was laid off in January from her job at Monster Worldwide, the parent company of the job search site Monster.com, she decided to use some of the time to work on writing her science fiction novel. But that alone didn’t fill the void she felt when she lost her job.
“I just needed something that was more like a job, where I have to get up in the morning and get dressed,’’ Wolfman said. “I felt I needed something to fill my time.’’
Wolfman found what she was looking for with two volunteer gigs, teaching computer skills to children at the Boys & Girls Club and to women prison inmates in Framingham.
“Being with women at the prison is really rewarding,’’ Wolfman said. “They surprised me by how friendly they were, how motivated, cooperative. Some of them would get into telling me about their stories. That made my day sometimes.’’
Wolfman is one of a number of laid-off workers in the western suburbs who are putting their skills to use through volunteering. Area nonprofit organizations say they’ve seen a surge of new volunteers in the past few months, many of whom have recently been laid off.
The volunteers say the work provides them with structure, allows them to stay connected with their communities, helps them develop new skills as they hunt for jobs, and gives them a chance to give back in a way they couldn’t have done when they were busy with full-time work.
“I’m seeing it all over metrowest,’’ said Susan Nicholl chairwoman of the Metrowest Nonprofit Network. “There are more people out there who want to apply their skills in nonprofits. They feel like they have something really of value to offer.’’
The Department of Human & Volunteer Services in Newton has seen a 10 to 15 percent increase in people looking to volunteer in recent months. The Needham Community Council has also seen an uptick in volunteers, and so has Service Opportunities After Reaching 55, a Newton Community Service Center program for people 55 and over.
“It’s something I look forward to every week,’’ said Needham resident Julie Reich, who lost her job as a textbook editor at a Waltham publishing company in January and began volunteering at the Needham Community Council in February. “I schedule things around it. It’s nice to have a place I need to go once a week. And I really like the people.’’
Reich said she hopes to land a communications job at a nonprofit organization, and she said employers have told her that her best bet may be to find a job as a grant writer. She has already written one grant for the Needham Community Council and hopes to do more, and she is training on a specialized database widely used at nonprofits.
“It’s mutually beneficial,’’ Reich said. “I didn’t start out volunteering thinking, ‘Oh, this could really advance my career.’ As I was working there, I discovered that I could really learn skills that I would need in the type of job I’m looking for.’’
Like Reich, Needham resident Lynn Rodman stumbled upon volunteer opportunities at the Needham Community Council while donating food for the organization’s pantry.
Rodman, who worked for Fidelity for 18 years until she was laid off last spring, now helps in the organization’s thrift shop and teaches people English.
Rodman said volunteering has helped remind her that others are struggling more than she is, and has given her a chance to do something for her community.
“It’s been great for me,’’ Rodman said. “I’ve lived in Needham for a long time, but I’ve commuted into the city, working.’’
Adults aren’t the only ones turning to volunteering when a job search doesn’t pan out. The Volunteers Around Needham summer teen volunteer program had more than 50 teens sign up this year, up from a record of 30 last summer.
Alexandra Hogan, a staff member at the Needham Youth Commission, said kids are scooping up the volunteer shifts in part because they can’t find summer jobs.
“We have one or two jobs [advertised], and people are jumping on them,’’ Hogan said. “The volunteer opportunities are in hotter demand. They’re looking for anything.’’
“I’ve had a bunch of friends come up to me and asking me do you know of any jobs, and I say I have to find a job myself first before I start helping you with yours,’’ said Ian Campbell, 17, of Newton.
Campbell is volunteering with the Volunteers Around Needham program for the fifth year, and he works weekend mornings as a golf caddy, but he said he wishes he could get more steady summer work.
“It gets pretty boring in the summer,’’ Campbell said. “I’m going to need something to stimulate me and keep me going.’’
His sister, Madison Campbell, 16, also volunteers, but some of her friends have been shut out of the program because of a long wait list.
“A lot of my friends are having trouble finding jobs,’’ she said. “They tried to sign up for [the volunteer program], but there’s not a lot of spots open, so they can’t even do that.’’
At the other end of the age spectrum, Jan Latorre-Stiller, director of the Newton over-55 service group, said the organization has seen an overwhelming response to workshops geared at getting older people who have lost their jobs into volunteer positions.
“They’re particularly affected by layoffs because the likelihood of them becoming employed again is much less than somebody younger,’’ said Latorre-Stiller.
But don’t tell that to Wolfman, 66, who found her prison volunteering position through the organization.
“I have no intentions of retiring anytime soon,’’ Wolfman said. 