Volunteer Opportunities
Carolina Center for Public Service
The Carolina Center for Public Service invites retired Carolina faculty and professionals to join in its work of connecting the energy and expertise of both the University and the community to provide students, faculty and staff with deep and transformative experiences and to create collaborative and interdisciplinary solutions to local and global challenges.
Retired faculty and professionals support this work by reviewing applications and nominations for scholarships, awards and fellowships, offering their expertise in guest lectures for service-learning courses or community engagement programs, and offering non-academic skills trainings that help equip students with the capacity to become more effective in their service work.
Contact ccps@unc.edu if you are interested in getting involved with the Center in any of these ways. Or sign up for the Public Service News here to stay updated on its programs as well as opportunities promoted by community partner organizations.
Habitat For Humanity
The Orange County Chapter of Habitat for Humanity is trying to expand its stable of “Regular Volunteers” who work with others in building new affordable-homeownership units. Several current regulars are retired UNC-CH faculty and professionals, and they are hoping to recruit others. No construction training is needed; the paid staff train the new volunteers. Habitat for Humanity provides affordable homeownership to families who might not otherwise have the opportunity to have a home of their own.
Habitat relies on volunteers to keep the cost of housing low. Volunteering is flexible and fun, and no prior construction experience is necessary. Volunteer opportunities are available every Wednesday, Friday and Saturday from 8:00 a.m. to noon or 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. To signup online, go to https://orangehabitat.volunteerhub.com. If you have questions or problems signing up, contact Ansel Prichard, Volunteer Engagement Manager, at aprichard@orangehabitat.org or 919-932-7077 ext. 220. Also available for information are professors emeriti Bill Rohe (brohe@unc.edu) or Jim Yankaskas (james_yankaskas@med.unc.edu).
Ackland Art Museum
The Ackland Art Museum, UNC’s local art museum with a global outlook, is seeking RFPA members to join the Ackland as a museum member. Member events allow you to meet new and longstanding friends of the museum who share your commitment to arts in our community. To become an Ackland member, visit https://ackland.org/support/membership.
Another opportunity to engage with the Ackland and the public is to become an Ackland Docent. Docents participate in specialized training that equips them to lead lively and interactive tours for K-12 school groups and community groups. Training sessions focus on both art and effective teaching strategies for the Ackland’s diverse audiences. To find out more about the Docent program, visit https://ackland.org/support/get-involved/docent-program/.
For more information about the museum’s collection, current and upcoming exhibitions, and programs, visit www.ackland.org.
National High School Ethics Bowl
UNC’s Parr Center for Ethics invites community members to serve as judges for its award-winning National High School Ethics Bowl (NHSEB) program. The NHSEB is an educational outreach program designed to get thousands of students nationwide thinking, talking, and working together on tough moral and political issues. The program’s collaborative, yet competitive format (unlike speech and debate) is based on the idea of a conversational dialogue. The goal is to work together toward something true or reasonable rather than to subdue the opposing argument with superior rhetoric. Students are evaluated based on the clarity and quality of their reasoning, as well as the ways they engage with each other’s ideas: ideally, honestly, respectfully, and productively.
NHSEB’s HQ at the Parr Center hosts two major events, bringing hundreds of high school students to the UNC Chapel Hill campus each year: the North Carolina High School Ethics Bowl (January 27. 2024) and the NHSEB National Championship (April 12-14, 2024). For more information about the NHSEB program, or to volunteer, please contact ethicsbowl@unc.edu.
Intergenerational Philosophy
The Philosophy Department and Parr Center for Ethics have partnered with the Retired Faculty and Professionals Association for several years to create intergenerational spaces for learning and discussion about life’s most pressing questions. At its core, philosophy is about asking questions and critically reflecting on our beliefs and values, and we believe it is best practiced in the company of others. Our hope is that by drawing on the rich and varied experiences represented across generations, we can promote lifelong learning and strengthen the ties of the Carolina community.
There are several opportunities to participate in Intergenerational Philosophy each semester. This year, the opportunities are as follows:
- In Fall 2023, RFPA members are invited to participate in the UNC-Seymour Center philosophy series. Meetings will take place in the Seymour Center theater room on 9/26, 4 p.m.; 10/26, 4 p.m.; 11/30, 4 p.m.; 12/14, 4 p.m. All are welcome!
- In Spring 2024, RFPA members are invited to participate in regular philosophical discussions with UNC-CH undergraduates at the Seymour Center, discussing a range of topics and questions curated both by students and discussion participants.
Contact Philosophy Teaching Assistant Professor & Director of Outreach Michael Vazquez (michael.vazquez@unc.edu) with any questions about this program, or with ideas for future programming.
Tips for Retired Faculty and Professionals on Volunteer Opportunities
Don Stedman, Past President
When you retire, and if you have you probably know this, everyone thinks you have nothing to do now so you should be happy to work for them – and for free. After all, “Retirees are the backbone of the volunteer industry.” And, they think you should be available on the spur of the moment for whatever needs doing.
True enough, now that you have retired, you do have more time to do what you want to do; even if, once in a while, it’s nothing. At least your time may be more flexible than it was with whatever you did before.
Maybe you didn’t retire on purpose. Maybe you would rather not be retired at all. In any event, you are someone marked as an available hand, for free, to do whatever. Well, you probably should volunteer anyway. It’s a good thing for you to do and people do need help, especially community non-profits with needs to fill and few resources to hire people to meet the needs. However, when you are asked to volunteer and you do consider it, it is very important for all concerned that you maintain control of what you volunteer to do, when you do it, and how long you keep it up. Let me explain.
Many people in the community with volunteer needs haven’t carefully planned what they really need from volunteers or how to describe to potential volunteers what they need and want. You can help the asking group and you can help yourself if you keep several guidelines and cautions in mind before you accept an invitation to volunteer.
Here are some GUIDELINES. Be able to answer “Yes” to all these questions or don’t take the job.
Is it clear what the organization asking for your help wants you, as a volunteer, to do?
Is the activity well planned?
Is it a need, an activity or goal that you personally support and admire?
Do you have the interest and the ability to do the tasks required of volunteers?
Do you have the amount and schedule of time to commit? Will you show up, stay for the duration and be reliable?
Can you be a good follower and not try to take over? (Unless asked.)
And, here are some Special Cautions:
The gig should not be open ended. Get and give time commitments.
Your work should mean something – i.e. somebody really needs the product of your efforts.
Don’t volunteer just because a friend is putting the bite on you. Sometimes urgent needs infringe on good friendships.
The Research Triangle region is full of non-profits, service agencies, schools, causes, and advocacy groups. In today’s economy, fund raising is especially tough. So support for staff workers is at an all time low. Volunteers are needed now more than ever and the pool of retirees is expanding.
Volunteering should be part of your new “work plan”. I strongly encourage it. It’s healthier for you to be busy and feel needed. It’s good to be part of a team. Your “encore” period of development should help you grow, not age. It should add to your feelings of productivity and worth. Volunteering is a good thing, but plan it like you plan the rest of your life.
All of this is probably intuitive. But, I have found that if you don’t approach volunteering in a clear and planful way, you probably won’t turn out to be of much help to anybody, including yourself.