The newly jobless find volunteering is a give-and-take comfort

Susan Mitchell has been unemployed since March, but she’s never at a loss for work.

A Type A personality who found herself with time on her hands, Mitchell is almost as busy now as before she was laid off from her job as a project manager for software development. She’s a hospice volunteer, a foster mother for rescued dogs and, twice a week, the lady in the pink pinafore who visits WakeMed with the canine equivalent of a happy pill.

“It has changed my life tremendously,” Mitchell said of being able to expand her volunteer activities while looking for a new job.

Those who work with charities across the Triangle say they have seen a measurable increase in the number of volunteers who want to give time and in the number of hours volunteers have to offer since last fall, when the U.S. economy began to sour. Some say they have noticed an increase since January, which may be credited in part to President Barack Obama’s admonishment to Americans to contribute to community service.

“You’d be surprised at the calls I get. People saying, ‘I’m out of work, and I really want to help the community, but I really want to get some experience, too,’ ” said Corinne Everett, director of volunteer services at the Volunteer Center of Durham.

The center works with 600 other nonprofits, connecting people with organizations that can use them. In some cases, Everett said, organizations get far more applications for volunteers than there are open positions.

A good match can benefit both the organization and the volunteer, Everett said. Charities, which have seen their monetary donations drop with the economy, can use the hands-on help more than ever. Those who give their time get a chance to learn a new skill or stay fresh with one in the field in which they used to work.

Volunteering can also serve as a networking opportunity, and it restores some structure to the life of a person accustomed to being on the job.

“Working is just a fundamental need,” said Tamara Richert, who has just started as a volunteer in another WakeMed program.

Richert’s job in software development was recently moved to Germany. She decided to stay in Raleigh, and she’s considering changing careers, to something in the medical field. As a volunteer, she will be entering and interpreting data from interviews with patients to help the hospital improve its services — an easy fit with her computer expertise. She’ll also have the chance to observe jobs throughout the hospital to see what might interest her.

“This will give me a good feel for what it would be like to work in this environment,” she said.

Skills for a paying job

Candace Whisenant is now giving away the expertise for which she used to get paid. Whisenant lost her job as a human resources manager for Belk in early February. She wants to work outside retail, she said, but wants to put what she knows to good use.

Last Saturday, she worked her first shift at the Durham chapter of Dress for Success, which helps women prepare for job interviews by giving them clothes, accessories, training in interview techniques and other assistance.

“Because I am a human resource professional, I know the expectations of an interviewer and a recruiter,” Whisenant said. “I do want to see how I can use my experience in another industry, but mostly I want to give back and utilize the skills that I have.”

Volunteer organizers say they don’t know how long they will have this labor largesse, but they’re enjoying it while it lasts.

“People are using this as an opportunity to chase a dream that they have always had,” said Marie Johnson, manager of volunteer and community service at the Raleigh campus of WakeMed.

When people go back to work, she hopes some of her volunteers will continue to be involved.

More time to help

Mitchell has been coming to WakeMed with Sarah, her affable Nova Scotia duck tolling retriever, since 2004, part of a hospital program that lets patients, doctors and staff get a regular dose of fuzz therapy. But the long hours of Mitchell’s job limited the amount of time she could give.

When she was laid off — on her 10th anniversary with the company — Mitchell decided that just because she wasn’t being paid for her time didn’t mean it couldn’t be productive. She enrolled her other dog, Luke, in the program, took him through the training and now reports with him at WakeMed every Friday morning.

“It’s very rewarding,” Mitchell said. “The patients, the ones who are on monitors, you can actually watch their blood pressure drop when they rub on the dog. Some people will say, ‘Gee, that’s the first time I’ve smiled all day.’ ”

By Martha Quillin – Staff writer
Newsobserver.com

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