SSI and Volunteering

After reading the blog post "SSI + Volunteering a job = Perfect for Resume!" by Here I Am, it got me to thinking of some other volunteer jobs I had. Currently, I'm a volunteer computer refurbisher for a nonprofit. They then give the computers to their students.

Back when I lived in KY, I was a volunteer with the Kentucky Shakespeare Festival. I was with them for about 5-6 years, doing some office work at first, and then moved on to their outdoor Shakespeare performances as a volunteer floating usher. By a floating usher, I wasn't in one place all the time, but was all over the place. When we passed out the programs before the performances started, I'm usually midway down one aisle on one side. Then during the last two weeks of the performances, they added on shadow signers, who move along with the performers. When we did a short comedy before the actual performance, sometimes the actors would interact with the signer or sign themselves. Sometimes I'd be an interpreter for the deaf attendees at the gift shop in back or the snack shop. They even had me do a signing commercial about the performances.

I was also a museum volunteer with the local science museum. That allowed me to interact quite a bit with the visitors out there and sometimes do a science demo. To this day, the liquid nitrogen demos were my favorite, and I can still do them with the appropriate equipment. There were a few others I did, one being static electricity, but can't remember them all. I think I can be the mad scientist again. I got the lab coat and just gotta find the frizzy-haired wig...

I definitely gotta agree that volunteering is a great way to pad out your resume when not doing paid work as well as when you're on SSI and jobsearching/unemployed or going back to school. Heck, your foot's already in the door so to speak when you're going back to college.