Today, a teammate of mine from i4k told me about the best thing she's ever done: WWOOFing. Don't worry, I also had no idea what it was. As it turns out, it stands for Worldwide Opportunities On Organic Farms. Basically, it's a program devoted to help farmers gain willing and interested volunteers to work on organic and sustainable farms throughout the US--and even Australia and New Zealand! The volunteers pay a membership fee of something like 30$ and with that they browse different farm profiles and select where they would like to go. Although the internships are unpaid, volunteers are provided with food and housing in exchange for their help. At the same time "woofers" as they're called are provided with skills, knowledge, and a new perspective. I'm putting this on my bucket list as we speak. I love farming, I'm from an agricultural background and I would love to learn more about the organic side of things, since my dad isn't exactly an organic farmer. At the same time, I think it's really cool to dive into new things and learn practical skills about issues completely unrelated to your personal field of study. I'm a sophomore Media Studies major at a big 10 university...why do I want to volunteer to help a random family out for the summer? Why not is the better question...I'm not exactly sure when I'll be able to do this since I'm biking across the US this summer..but maybe I'll tentatively put it on the list of things to do for next year.
On a semi-unrelated note, I think new experiences are great for so many reasons. Being part of the Illini 4,000 team and knowing nothing about cycling has taught me so many lessons. Not to mention, it was this new experience, that introduced me to another new experience...just from being able to talk to a teammate who I would not have otherwise known. Sometimes, it's weird the way that things work out. It's strange thinking about how one door opens to another so easily.
Quote of the day: “Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” – Mark Twain
This is SO exciting to me. I think this may be just the thing I've been looking for. I have been looking into volunteer opportunities for quite some time...ones that would allow me to grow while helping others. Thank you so much for this post - and for your blog :-)
ReplyDeletekeithawynn2011.blogspot.com
Haha it's SO exciting to me too, it sounds like such a cool way to delay the real world, right?!
ReplyDeleteYes ma'am indeed! So when did your volunteer spirit first come about?
ReplyDeleteGood question, I think it's just something I've kind of just innately had. I wouldn't say I'm a huge philanthropic or anything--I just try to do little things that help out and at the same time give me a new outlook and new experiences. What about you?
ReplyDeleteI think mine is definitely innate as well...I first noticed it when I was an adolescent. It's wonderful to meet others with the same spirit. I greatly admire than in someone and I'm glad I found your blog :-)
Delete