“Work is man’s salvation,” is an age-old maxim, with roots in the Bible, most likely. Like many old saws, it can be profound or trite, depending who says it, how they say it, or your mood when you hear it.
But nearly everyone agrees that being engaged, whether for pay or not, is healthy. If you can’t find paid work, or can’t find the time for it, volunteering can meet all kinds of needs, and leave you feeling better in the process.
On the Vineyard, opportunities for volunteering are numerous and varied. The Martha’s Vineyard Donors Collaborative maintains a list of organizations that welcome volunteer involvement. The collaborative recognizes that, “We have a population of residents rich in experience, energy, and compassion who want to be involved in the community,” according to their website. “Volunteering is a way to meet new people, to give back, to enhance professional relationships, and to use your skills.”
The list includes Martha’s Vineyard Donors Collaborative, Martha’s Vineyard Community Services, Featherstone Center for the Arts, Vineyard Conservation Society, Martha’s Vineyard Boys & Girls Club, Media Voices For Children, Habitat for Humanity of Martha’s Vineyard, Martha’s Vineyard Museum, Island Housing Trust, Mass Audubon at Felix Neck Wildlife Sanctuary, The West Tisbury Free Public Library, African Artists’ Community Development Project, The Martha’s Vineyard Film Festival, Tisbury Waterways, Inc., Vineyard Village at Home, Martha’s Vineyard International Film Society, Permanent Endowment Fund, Island Affordable Housing Fund, Windemere, MV Helping Homeless Animals, MV Connect to End Violence, Phyllis Veccia Creative Dance, Youth Task Force, Martha’s Vineyard Center for Living, Island Grown Schools, Marine & Paleobiological Research Institute, Women Empowered (WE), Elder Services of Cape Cod and the Islands, Inc., ACE MV – Adult and Community Education of MV, The FARM Institute, Rising Tide Therapeutic Equestrian Center, Chilmark Free Public Library, Library Friends of Oak Bluffs.
For a brief description of these organizations and their volunteer opportunities, visit mvdonors.org.
