By Traci McBride
Everything in life comes with its own inventory of pros and cons, especially how you decide to spend your time and efforts in volunteerism. Creating your own list of positives and negatives is good advice before starting any long- or short-term commitments.
Strike up a conversation with someone who volunteers on a regular basis and ask about their experience. It can give you a good perspective and direction on organizations that match your belief system and interests. Your time is priceless; giving it with joy is selfless and satisfying.
Let’s Start with the Cons of Volunteering
Time commitment
Costs of travel/food
Unappreciative recipients of your efforts
Personality conflicts
Personal energy expenditure
Potential of choosing the wrong organization
Emotional drain when engaging with those in difficult life situations
And Now the Pros…
Staying active & engaged extends to graceful aging
Influencing another human being can be life-saving
Practicing or elevating your skill set
Mastering time management
Experiencing an organization from the inside
Socializing while creating new friendships with like-minded people
Increasing self-esteem & confidence
Creating the ripple effect in your community & in other people
Inspiring friends and family to get involved
Rewarding effect of aligning with a non-profit that touches you on a personal level
Spearheading ideas inside the organization
Source: CharityNavigator.org
Traci McBride of TeeMcBee.com has passionately been a volunteer with Dress for Success – Cleveland since 2008.
Our Volunteer Salute
Meet NEO’s Givers
What better way to kick off the season of giving than recognizing some of our region’s most impressive volunteers? No other age group gives as much of its time, talent and energy as Boomers. We want to introduce you to a few outstanding givers recognized by our readers and provided by Greater Cleveland Volunteers (greaterclevelandvolunteers.org).
Meet: Gail Tichy
Where: Cleveland Metroparks
A retired federal worker, Tichy inherited a love of gardening from her grandmother.
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Time is one of our most valuable commodities. That’s why at Social Security, we are constantly improving our online resources to make doing business with us easier and faster.
With a My Social Security account, those receiving benefits can change their address and direct deposit information; get proof of their benefits; and request replacement documents, like a Medicare card. If you aren’t currently getting benefits, you can check your earnings record, get estimates of your future benefits, and view your Social Security Statement. In many states, you can even request a replacement Social Security card online. See everything you can do with a My Social Security account and open one today and at socialsecurity.gov.
You don’t need a My Social Security account to:
Select or change the way you receive information from Social Security if you are blind or visually impaired at socialsecurity.gov/people/blind.
Block electronic and automated telephone access to your personal information at socialsecurity.gov/blockaccess.
Apply for extra help with your Medicare prescription drug plan costs at socialsecurity.gov/extrahelp.
Be sure to share my Social Security with friends and family. By freeing up their time, they may plan on spending more of their valuable time with the people they love.
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In the 21st Century, more women work, pay Social Security taxes, and earn credit toward monthly retirement income than at any other time in our nation’s history. Yet, on average, women face greater economic challenges than men in retirement.
Nearly 55 percent of the people receiving Social Security benefits are women. Women generally live longer than men, while often having lower lifetime earnings. And women usually reach retirement with smaller pensions and other assets compared to men. These are three key reasons why Social Security is vitally important to women.
If you’ve worked and paid taxes into the Social Security system for at least 10 years and have earned a minimum of 40 work credits, you may be eligible for your own benefits. Once you reach age 62, you may be eligible for your own Social Security benefit whether you’re married or not and whether your spouse collects Social Security or not. If you’re eligible and apply for benefits on more than one work record, you generally receive the higher benefit amount.
The sooner you start planning for retirement, the better off you’ll be. We have specific information for women at socialsecurity.gov/people/women. Email or post this link to friends and family you love.
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