Idaho Falls Idaho and Volunteering Opportunities

I have experienced volunteering in many places and in many ways. Three places where I have volunteered stand out in my mind and though I am not currently a volunteer in the first two of these programs, I have however done volunteer work with them in the past and I found their programs to be well worth my time. Both of those programs were most rewarding. The third place I have experienced is my favorite and I hope to be able to volunteer there for many years to come.

Hospice of Eastern Idaho

I was a volunteer for this nonprofit organization, both as a board member and as a regular volunteer. There is a great need for individuals who are willing to donate their time to help bring comfort in the last days of a persons life.

In 2006 I saw an add in the local paper one day of a need for a board member for the nonprofit organization called Hospice of Eastern Idaho. I had been looking for something in my community to get involved in that was a worthy cause. This perhaps would be just the thing, so I sent them my resume. I was delighted when they contacted me and gave me the opportunity to serve on their board. To do so I was required to take a course that they provided for their volunteers. My youngest son desired to be a volunteer too and so he took the course with me. Their instructors were very good and my son and I learned a lot about volunteering with the terminally ill. Upon completion of the course I began attending their board meetings and eventually became their secretary of the board, taking and typing up their minutes. I enjoyed doing this.

What was even more rewarding though was doing service with my son at my side. Because of his young age of ten we were given the opportunity of taking bouquets of flowers into a couple of nursing homes in Idaho Falls a couple of times a month. The Hospice of Eastern Idaho Volunteer Coordinator would give us a list of their people they were servicing who resided in the nursing homes and my son and I would make bouquets of flowers from cut flowers we bought at the supermarkets or from my garden. Then we would go into the individual’s rooms remove the old vase and replace it with a fresh bouquet. A few kind words would be shared, an expression of caring. My son and I found this most rewarding. We also volunteered once a week in their office helping with some filing. This was not quit as rewarding but it was enjoyable.

We participated as volunteers with their hospice program until my husband became ill. Then my focus turned to his needs. At which time I resigned from the board of directors. Eventually my husbands illness worsened and a correct diagnosis of non-small cell lung cancer was made. The next few months were difficult ones. As my husbands daily care became more demanding and I was no longer able to meet all of his needs, I turned to the organization I had volunteered for. They were most helpful to me. Their director of nursing and their social worker and their Chaplain all made visits to my home within a day of receiving my phone call. They set up nursing visits for my husbands medical needs, then they arranged volunteers to come sit with my husband while I could take a needed break. I truly do not know how I could have survived the ordeal of watching my husband slip away without their assistance. I will always be indebted to them.

If you would like to be a volunteer for Hospice of Eastern Idaho you may contact them at 208-529-0342. http://hospiceofeasternidaho.com/new/index.php

Bonneville Joint School District 93’s Foster Grandparent reading program

The Foster Grandparent reading program participants work with teachers to help with the grade school students who are struggling with their reading skills. Volunteering to listen to a child in the early grades read out loud is really rewarding.

When I was living in Idaho Falls my youngest two children were attending the Falls Valley Elementary school. One day while visiting their school I became aware of a much needed volunteer program that they have there. After looking into the program I decided that it was something I would enjoy doing. So I signed up to be a Foster Grandparent. District 93 has a very good volunteer program complete with training. I went through the district training and began to work as a Foster Grandparent a couple of times a week. I found this to be most enjoyable. I would go to the classroom of the teacher I was assigned to and she would have a child ready for me to take out in to the hall or into a side room to help the student with their reading skills. I found this most enjoyable. There were books at the school we would read out of but since I owned a vast amount of easy reading children’s books at home I would pick out some fun ones to take with me for these visits. The children loved the fun books I would bring and we had a good time. I have moved away from that school district now but I really miss volunteering in this way.

You can contact your own school district to see if they are in need of volunteers. Most schools use volunteers in some manner. If you live in Bonneville Joint District 93 and would like to contact them here is their contact information:

Bonneville Joint School District No. 93
3497 N. Ammon Road
Idaho Falls, Idaho 83401
Phone: 208-525-4400

Idaho Falls Area Humanitarian Center

My third favorite volunteering opportunity is with the Idaho Falls Area Humanitarian Center. There is much good that is done for others there. They help people of all walks of life and they open their arms to volunteers of all ages. At the Humanitarian center items are made that go out to places all over the world and to people here in Eastern Idaho. I really enjoy serving my fellow man in this manner. I started helping there almost two years ago. I have enjoyed every moment of my time that I have given for the welfare of my fellowman. Some of the things I have done there are helping make nice warm quilts, coloring folder games, sanding wooden toys, painting toys, making jump-ropes, helping make bibs, ironing things to be sewn. I have done other things there too, all of which were enjoyable. It is a lot of fun to mingle with other volunteers and to serve my fellow man. You really should check them out. They have the following facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/idahofalls.area.humanitarian.center


People also view

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *