Long-ish Term Volunteer Opportunities (3-6 mth)

[tweez]

Hi all - I am (was) a part time Vacationlander. We lost what was going to be our retirement home on June 6. We are heart-broken but also very fortunate to have been a part of the community even briefly.

I am considering taking a 3-6 month sabbatical from work and would like to spend the time giving back to the community in some way if I can make it work.

I have been doing some online research as well but am open to suggestions! Is anyone aware of good, legit volunteer organizations that I can look into?

EDIT: One that I am looking into is Project Hawaii, Inc. that provides support and services to homeless keiki on the Big Island. I plan to reach out to them directly as well.

[kalianna]

Thanks for coming to help out. Do you have any particular areas of interest? World Central Kitchen/ #Chefs for Hawaii is a very legit organization if you're interested in helping to feed evacuees. We've been putting out three meals a day to three different locations since early on. Help, especially longer term regular hours type help is certainly welcome. Here's a couple links:

https://www.worldcentralkitchen.org/chefsforhawaii (for info)
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/60b054caead2ca4fa7-puna (to sign up)

[leilanidude]

Do you have a place to stay that will not be displacing anyone else that might need it?

[PaulW]

If you have a good job and no particularly useful skills for this situation then I think the best thing you could do is keep working and donate part of your salary to a reputable local charity. Thank you for the good intentions!

[tweez]

Thanks all - there are a lot of things to consider before making a final decision, including the concerns you guys mentioned:

@kalianna - thank you, I will look into that!
@leilanidude - yes, I will be staying with friends
@PaulW - have a good job that I will keep (my company has a short-term, paid sabbatical program for approved volunteer work), have skills, have donated, still want to do more if I can make it work and actually be a help and not a hindrance