CHAPTER III: GETTING STARTED A different type of retirement Here's some insight on selecting a location to volunteer at by ANTHONY F. & MARGUERITE BREDA
OFF THE BEATEN PATH: If you decide to volunteer at a remote facility, such as Ash Meadows Wildlife Refuge in Nevada, remember that you might have to drive several hours to reach a major airport or hospital. —photo courtesy Anthony F. & Marguerite Breda
At this point in your new adventure, we will assume that you have now selected a rig and know a little bit about the different types of facilities available. Now comes the decision as to which type of facility would be of interest to you. Who are you? Are you the quiet type who prefers to work alone or are you a team player who needs a lot of interaction with other volunteers? This will determine if you go to a large, busy facility or to a very remote, small, quiet spot in the middle of nowhere. When and what part of the country do you want to see as a volunteer? Is there a place you prefer: near family, in the mountains or at the seashore?
We like to go where it is warm in the winter and cool in the summer.
Sometimes we need to be near family, but we have also roamed farther afield. Know that if you decide to volunteer at a remote facility, you might have to drive several hours to reach a major airport or hospital. Nevertheless, you may decide that the location you have chosen is good enough reason to chance the distance. We have stayed at a number of very remote facilities where the nearest Wal-Mart was 152 miles away.
Facilities that have many volunteers will afford you an opportunity to meet people from many different walks of life. Oftentimes, there will be frequent potluck suppers and plenty of socializing. More people make it easier to engage in group events, like exploring or antique hunting.
Another factor to consider is whether being a volunteer will be a way of life for you. Will you volunteer a few months here, then drive off to another assignment, like we do? Or, will you take a break, go back home or just sightsee, at a slow pace?
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So let’s say that you have selected a facility, and that it is a state park. How do you find a park in that state—what’s available when you want to go there and information about the other points we discussed earlier? Again, the Internet is a good starting point. So, if you go to a search engine, like Yahoo or Google, type in the state you want, like Texas, and hit Enter. From there, you can find a web page describing that state. There, you will see a listing for either recreation or state parks. Follow that, and you will obtain a list of all the parks in that state. You will also see a section called Volunteers. Click on that, and you will bring up a list of all the parks that have a volunteer program. Besides the name, you will see the address, telephone number, and what each park has to offer.
Proceed with a telephone call to the park and ask for the volunteer co-ordinator. That person will tell you more about the park and its program. Upon request, he or she will send you an application. We return the completed application form with an introductory letter and our resume. A picture of you beside your rig also helps, unless of course, you look like a desperado.
It’s just as if you were applying for a job, except that the reward is not necessarily a monetary one. Like we say, “We just don’t work for money, anymore.” We usually start our search nine to 12 months in advance of the time we wish to serve. We have also found that it takes at least one or two followup calls to finalize the assignment, in addition to a number of e-mails.
An alternative approach is to visit a park nearby and pick up a brochure. This will contain all of the information that you would have received over the Internet. Follow the same procedure described above once you have selected the area of interest. The same procedure can be used for national forests, national parks, the Bureau of Land Management or national wildlife refuges. The trick here, is to use the correct e-mail address. These are as follows: www.nps.gov; www.nfs.gov; www.blm.gov; www.fws.gov.
Private parks can also be found on the Internet or by visiting your local library and browsing through an RV directory. Woodall’s, Trailer Life and Wheelers are good reference books and list parks by state and then by city or town. You will find all the information you need here. Telephone directories also list private campgrounds.
