Day 6: Volunteered at a bookstore.
Volunteered at a bookstore, February 13, 2010.
This was more or less the same situation as with my volunteer trip to Brooklyn. This time, the event was for AIDS Awareness Week. Different reason, same good intentions.
Also, we were going to be volunteering at a bookstore. And books are my ultimate weakness. I had to do it.
Event: With about five other people, I walked to the New York City Housing Works Bookstore. Housing Works (most of whose employees are, in fact, volunteers) donates to AIDS relief in all sorts of forms: finding housing for the sick, developing new medication, etc. We helped in the store’s cellar warehouse – packing a shipping the day’s online orders and packing the rest of the books in dozens of boxes in preparation for a big move the warehouse is doing.
Reactions: The full-time employees and organizers were visibly grateful for the extra help; they were so relieved that they could take an extra couple of minutes for coffee and lunch breaks. The regular volunteers were happy, too, to meet and talk to new people as they worked.
Would I do it again? Yes.
Cost: $0.
Effort: A lot, actually. The walk to Housing Works wasn’t too bad. Searching through the shelves for the day’s orders wasn’t, either. But stripping the shelves of all of the books, carrying them in boxes, and sealing/stacking the book-filled boxes was pretty physical. I’m hoping that work contributes to some decent bicep muscles.
Time: 4 hours.
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