Hobby or volunteering?

[Egret_Farmer]

I recently acquired a position called “volunteer cook” for an organization helping people with food insecurity, basically a food pantry with some shelter space. I can donate whatever food I want to donate that I’ve made, and so far I’ve mostly been doing cookies and peanut butter jelly sandwiches, just basic stuff like that. (This is subject to change.) Not to get too specific, but I’ve heard baking for hospital staff and crocheting clothes for premature babies both be classified as “hobbies”, so I was wondering if what I was doing would be considered a hobby as well. (I’ve also heard that just donating to a food pantry isn’t volunteering, which I agree with… but I guess since I’m making my own food, it’s different. A lot more time and effort required, of course.) All my cooking/baking is done at home, and my contact at the organization tells me to record my own hours and send them to her whenever I want. I just need to drop my food off at a consistent time.

I guess my main point of confusion is what separates what I’m doing from the examples I gave, if anything. (Or if I’m wrong about those examples being considered hobbies instead of volunteering.) I have a title with the word volunteer, and I have someone I can contact for hours verification, but it’s not the same as volunteering in person, is it? Or might it be considered nonclinical volunteering just the same?

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[LunaOri]

Personally, I would count preparing food for a food pantry as non-clinical volunteering. You don’t have to have face-to-face contact in order to call it volunteering—although you do need to get face-to-face hours from one of your volunteer positions. Cooking and baking would be classed as a hobby when you are doing it for fun or as a creative outlet.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

How much of your time is dedicated to cooking for the food pantry? That will dictate to me if it is better to clarify as volunteering vs. hobby. I presume this isn't cake decorating.

Example: the days of COVID-19 when making masks for nursing homes was nonclinical volunteering as most people weren't making masks for fun.

Others write about playing an instrument at a nursing home. That one goes back to hours for me.

 

[LizzyM]

Look at your motivation. Do you do it because people are hungry or because you love baking and need someone to eat your output. One would be volunteering and the other would be hobby.

I tend to discount volunteering that is not direct contact with those helped. Would it be possible to put in some hours distributing food directly to the consumers?

 

[GoSpursGo]

I think you can comfortably call this volunteering and nobody would bat an eye. But you should still find something else that actually gets you out of your comfort zone and directly interacting with people from other walks of life

 

[Egret_Farmer]

How much of your time is dedicated to cooking for the food pantry? That will dictate to me if it is better to clarify as volunteering vs. hobby. I presume this isn't cake decorating.

Example: the days of COVID-19 when making masks for nursing homes was nonclinical volunteering as most people weren't making masks for fun.

Others write about playing an instrument at a nursing home. That one goes back to hours for me.

Maybe 2 or 3 hours per week? I prepare the food from scratch… I mean, I guess I decorate the cookies with chocolate chips, but that’s just part of the recipe. I could theoretically do more hours; there’s no limit on me except how much I can carry to the place.

Chocolate chip cookies are, I think, notoriously easy to bake (part of the reason why I started with them, and also because they were specifically requested), but I was thinking of expanding to more complicated recipes like macarons just for the sake of variety. The place rarely gets baked goods to begin with, but I think chocolate chip cookies are probably one of the more common baked goods for them to receive. Maybe macarons? I’m definitely trying to tailor my baking output to the needs for the people using the food pantry, though—this isn’t some playground for me, and macarons are kind of a “luxury” food, maybe too frivolous. I of course won’t donate food I wouldn’t approve of myself, but I think I’m good enough at macarons that I’d be comfortable doing them for the pantry.

Sorry, that last paragraph kind of veered off into something else, but if anyone has suggestions for what people in need might want more than other stuff, I’m all ears. I’ve also considered baking more “nutritious” things like bread and muffins—still baking, so it’s easy to transport and my sibling is comfortable with it, but I guess… theoretically… better. I’ve been explicitly told not to consider food just for the sake of “health”, though—I think they get enough of that. More tasty things, please . Also, I think I was originally asked to do chocolate chip cookies and PBJ because these are comfort foods for people, or at least well within most people’s comfort zone, but that’s just kind of speculation on my part. I’m definitely not trying to get experimental here, though, unless I get asked by my organization. It’s all tailored to what the people who use the pantry might want.

 

[Egret_Farmer]

Look at your motivation. Do you do it because people are hungry or because you love baking and need someone to eat your output. One would be volunteering and the other would be hobby.

I tend to discount volunteering that is not direct contact with those helped. Would it be possible to put in some hours distributing food directly to the consumers?

I do it for several reasons: it’s a bonding activity for me and my sibling, with whom I bake, and I want to give people food they want. To be honest, I don’t like baking all that much because it tends to take a lot of money and time, but my sibling does. I specifically bake because the organization said that they rarely get baked goods but people are always happy to have them available (I was pretty surprised by the lack of baked goods, but anyway…). If they started asking for more nutritious food, I’d do that instead, but this way it kind of hits two birds with one stone for me.

Oh yeah, I started doing this because their in-person volunteer space was limited, but this way, I’d still be in a volunteer position for them. I think they said they’re opening up early next year, so I’ll see then if I can get some in-person hours. (I’ll still be cooking, since I usually do it weekends and they’re only officially open on weekdays. Wondering if I can count the baking hours in my total, or if I should do it separately/not at all…)

 

[Egret_Farmer]

I think you can comfortably call this volunteering and nobody would bat an eye. But you should still find something else that actually gets you out of your comfort zone and directly interacting with people from other walks of life

Hmm… I’m also volunteering to help someone improve their English fluency in a different country. (It’s Zoom calls where we just kind of talk, and I correct them if need be + help them improve their confidence. It’s also officially limited by the organization in charge to 1 hour per week, even though it hasn’t, uh… exactly gone that way. The other person tends to stick around for an extra hour. Still recording it 1 hour/week.) They do live in a country that’s been getting a lot of airtime on the news for war, but they’re a college student and not especially affected, though.

 

[LunaOri]

Baking macarons sounds more hobby-ish.

 

[Egret_Farmer]

Baking macarons sounds more hobby-ish.

Yeah. To be honest, this one’s more personal appeal, since I can eat more macarons than chocolate chip cookies and they’re kind of a point of pride for me. They do take longer, though, for sure, and are more expensive to make. Plus they weren’t specifically suggested.

 

[GoSpursGo]

Hmm… I’m also volunteering to help someone improve their English fluency in a different country. (It’s Zoom calls where we just kind of talk, and I correct them if need be + help them improve their confidence. It’s also officially limited by the organization in charge to 1 hour per week, even though it hasn’t, uh… exactly gone that way. The other person tends to stick around for an extra hour. Still recording it 1 hour/week.) They do live in a country that’s been getting a lot of airtime on the news for war, but they’re a college student and not especially affected, though.

My general point is it seems like most of your volunteering is all done from the comfort of your home, which is still true of this Zoom call. And that is not ideal. You need to get out of your comfort zone.

 

[Egret_Farmer]

My general point is it seems like most of your volunteering is all done from the comfort of your home, which is still true of this Zoom call. And that is not ideal. You need to get out of your comfort zone.

That’s true. I’m looking for more in-person activities. I’ll probably start looking further away from my university, to be honest—it seems like the volunteering’s fairly saturated here.

 

[Goro]

That’s true. I’m looking for more in-person activities. I’ll probably start looking further away from my university, to be honest—it seems like the volunteering’s fairly saturated here.

Service need not be "unique"; it can be anything that helps people unable to help themselves and that is outside of a patient-care setting. If you can alleviate suffering in your community through service to the poor, homeless, illiterate, fatherless, etc, you are meeting an otherwise unmet need and learning more about the lives of the people (or types of people) who will someday be your patients.

Check out your local houses of worship for volunteer opportunities. The key thing is service to others less fortunate than you. And get off campus (and off ZOOM) and out of your comfort zone!

Examples include: Habitat for Humanity, Ronald McDonald House, Humane Society, crisis hotlines, soup kitchen, food pantry, homeless or women’s shelter, after-school tutoring for students or coaching a sport in a poor school district, teaching literacy or ESL to adults at a community center, Big Brothers/Big Sisters, Meals on Wheels, mentoring immigrant/refugee adults, being a friendly visitor to shut-ins, adaptive sports program coach or Special Olympics.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

I’m looking for more in-person activities. I’ll probably start looking further away from my university, to be honest—it seems like the volunteering’s fairly saturated here.

Which university has this problem??? If you are attending a large state university, you can find opportunities. If you are attending a small liberal arts colleges, you will find opportunities. Regardless, I agree that you should look off campus.

 

[atriablack]

Yeah. To be honest, this one’s more personal appeal, since I can eat more macarons than chocolate chip cookies and they’re kind of a point of pride for me. They do take longer, though, for sure, and are more expensive to make.

Ah but it's not about you . Bake a batch for your friends and family (or maybe a nice professor who's writing you a LOR). Be mindful of who you are serving and what they would like to see.
I make pretty kickass macrons myself and I agree they reflect a certain technical skillset. But the time and cost investment shouldn't be for your pride. In the time it takes me to make a batch of macrons, I could make 3-4x more cookies.

Plus they weren’t specifically suggested.

I'd stick to familiar, comfort foods that are requested. Volunteering in person will also help with this as you build an understanding of the community you are serving.