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| - I am writing this review because there are a lot of people out there myself included that never knew places like this existed around Charlotte. I also wanted to include this in my fun places for a date Yelp list, because I had no idea how easy it was to start volunteering your spare time, or how rewarding and fun it would be if you shared it with a loved one.
My wife and I don't have kids yet so we haven't been on anyone's schedule but our own, so when she mentioned volunteering I rolled my eyes because my preconceptions involved building a house, picking up trash, or some other labor intensive activity that contradicted my lifestyle of couch surfing. Then she said here's something online I found we can do on Sunday, Hands on Charlotte needs volunteers to walk rescue dogs at the White Water Center. I was like well I can do that, so she signed us up online, we got an email confirmation from the event manager Marcel and that Sunday we took a cute pugle named Winston, and a sweet one-eyed dachshund named Pirouette on a 3 mile hike around the NCWWC. After our hike all of the volunteers gathered around the picnic area drank some craft beer and showed off our sweet rescue friends. Each dog was wearing an adopt me scarf, and as adults and children stopped by to pet them we just reminded them they were all up for adoption through Project Halo. We left that day a little sad because we had become attached to our new buddies, but were also excited to come back and volunteer again to meet new ones. You can search handsoncharlotte.org for "Hiking with Hounds" if that event sounds interesting to you.
On our hike we spent most of the time talking to the HOC community manager Marcel. He was very personable and told us about the organization and everything they are involved in. We mentioned that we live in the LKN area and noticed a game night at Huntersville Oaks nursing home and wondered if we could go there on Wednesday. He said for most new volunteers you will have to come down to their office for orientation, but that since he met us in person he would send us the link to take the training online. We completed the orientation and paid the onetime $20 fee through Paypal to be able to access all of the opportunities in Charlotte and become official members.
That Wednesday we helped with game night at the nursing home near our house. We showed up and met the volunteer leader Mairin. It was bingo night so our job was to help each patron get to the community room and as Mairin called out the numbers we helped them mark their cards correctly. Hearing, eyesight, and mental capacity, are all luxuries we take for granted in our youth so it was very humbling to be able to assist and converse with this group of elders. We hope the more we volunteer there the more we will get to hear each ones story. We have been together almost 5 years, but we left the nursing home that night having conversations in the car that never crossed our minds to have with each other. It is amazing how much you learn about each other when you are put in a position to help others together.
On a high from those first two events the following weekend we saw Shining Hope Farms in Denver was hosting a birthday party for children with disabilities and needed a few extra hands to help out. We signed up and when we arrived met Milinda who owned the farm. She taught us that morning about Hippotherapy, and how children and adults with disabilities can benefit from the characteristic movements of horseback riding that stimulate sensory and motor inputs. The birthday boy and his friends were offered this special horseback therapy, and because I was tall I was chosen to walk alongside the horse bracing each child on the saddle as the horse walked around the arena. The horses were incredibly calm and trained, and as I saw the smiles and laughs of each sweet child during their turn to ride it moved me to my core. Meanwhile my wife had volunteered for the face painting booth so she could put her artistic skills to work, after that the kids visited the bunny petting station, ate lunch and cake then finished the afternoon knocking down a birthday piñata.
I have to say just from my brief exposure to this organization not one dinner, brewery, vineyard, or festival date has held a candle to the memories we made in those few short hours together volunteering. They have an endless list of projects on their calendar from as small as one hour to an entire day that you can sign up for. I also recommend you follow them on Facebook as they may post a specific project they need extra hands for that week. Trust me when I say it would be a great place to take a new date, a significant other, or go alone to meet other volunteers and broaden your circle of friends. Most importantly though I finally learned the joy of being a Good Samaritan and I'm looking forward to making new memories on future projects through Hands on Charlotte.
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