I agree with you completely on volunteering and the help that it gives other people. We are at this time filling out applications for Washington state Parks for next year. My wife will retire July 18, 08 and we will be in a position to offer our services.
WSP asks for 20 hours per week for site and if a couple does this that is 10 hours apiece.
I just think even as a volunteer position that they are asking an awful lot of people. They should maybe consider having more volunteering positions so they can fill there needs.
We have volunteered at many facilities, including state, county and federal. None asked more than 24 hours per week, combined. I think that is fair to both the volunteer and the employer.
We usually give far more than the required hours, even up to 40 hours each weekly. That was by choice, not a requirement. I feel asking 32 hours each is unrealistic and will severely limit the responsible, eager volunteer pool.
Sue, perhaps you could lower your required hours. You will, most likely, get qualified volunteers who will put in far more hours than required.
Just my humble opinion, after working over 17 volunteer positions.
Dianne
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I have to agree with Dianne here after 5 years of Volunteering. Like Dianne and Terry I've put in way over the basic amount required by choice, but if searching for a position that demanded nearly full time work for both I would shy away from that position real fast. In all reality when one does the math in a situation like this you are actually paying them to work the position with just site compensation alone. The positions I've had only required 20 hours per week. If I wanted to put in more I did, however had they told me up front it required 32 hours per week I would not have applied.
Working 32 hours per week does not give one much time and resembles full-time work. It sounds like a GREAT position however I have to agree with Dianne Sue as to maybe lowering the hours required and you'll most likely end up with folks who actually put in more. The other drawback is the distance to anything of significance for incidentals and other things. Working an almost full-time position (hour wise) leaves little time to travel to these places let alone see the surrounding locale.
Based upon more than eight years of RV volunteer service in many different locations, I can verify that most federal positions ask for 24 to 32 hours per week for each person, and most of them do get that kind of help. Hpdrver is correct in that you have to understand what volunteering is in order to take these positions. We don't take too many positions that ask for 32 hours each, but we have on a few occasions and we are booked into Everglades National Park for next winter and we will be doing 32 hours per week, each.
The whole thing for us just depends upon what it is that we will be doing. If you enjoy what you do enough, then the hours are not really a big issue, as long as you do get the time to see the area while you are there. Another thing is the extras that go with the position. Many places have a laundry room for use of the volunteers at no cost. Everglades NP allows the volunteers to participate in all programs when off duty, even those which cost extra for visitors. They have a canoe that volunteers can use and many other small things. And the duties are all working with the interpretive rangers, which happens to be a job that we very much enjoy.
We have taken positions over the years which asked as little as 20 hours total for the site and as much as 32 hours each. Some of the greatest experiences have been in the 32 hour side.
I would offer one other comment. Some of those who have a lot of experience are also people who return over and over to the same two or three different places. We have served 23 tours as resident volunteers now and those have been in 19 different locations. We have work-camped in two national parks, state parks in four different states, county parks in three states, a state forestry dept., a fish & game dept., five different national wildlife refuges, and a number of other organizations. Of those, all were interesting and all except one we would recommend to other RVers.
If you are only willing to put in some minimal amount of time, it is probably not a good idea for you to join most federal agencies as a volunteer. The vast majority ask for at least three days of work per week and a significant share ask for four work days, each. But we have also had experiences that we could never have in any other way. It has been a wonderful life and we hope to keep on for many more years!
I would invite you to visit the website in my signature line and seep pictures and descriptions of all of the different places that we have experienced to date.
Quote: Two couples that had signed up, both had to back out due to health issues.
Or maybe they just figured out what it would cost them. We understand the volunteer thing, but have to agree with others that 64 hrs. a week is totally unreasonable and would explain the lack of applicants.
kirk wrote: I can verify that most federal positions ask for 24 to 32 hours per week for each person,
The economy has changed and perhaps it's time for them to change their requirements.
Kirk wrote: and most of them do get that kind of help
Taking into account that 2 couples cancelled and also taking into account the majority's views here, I think it will get increasingly difficult for them to get help unless they adjust their required hours. JMHO.
How about the $4.75 diesel or $4.20 gas to get there. Sounds like a long drive from anywhere. I think the 2 couples that opted out figured out travel costs. Seems like the state and federal parks are having trouble getting help this year.
Just my .02 worth.
Cigar Mike
2004.5 2500 CTD Dodge Ram Quad Cab Longbed
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we are currently working in a campsite for 20hrs each. not a good thing. we were supposed to be 20hrs per couple but when the work schedule was made up it showed 20 hr week. that amounted to 20hrs each. will notdo next year
We are not yet full-timing, but do plan to volunteer/workKamp when we start this time next year.
We will not provide 32 hours per week each... no matter how much we may like the work. Just wont do it. If I'm gonna be required to give 32 hours per week when I am RETIRED, I may as well do that for my present boss, who is crying-the-blues that I'm leaving next year.
After reading some of this, maybe I'll stay after all and work out a deal where we can still get to the sun in winter.
JM2C
Reading this thread, I think a lot of folks don't get what volunteering is about. For those of you that don't, try thinking in terms of all the people living in sticks and bricks and who volunteer at hospitals or habitat for humanity or churches or scouts. Some of these are people who put in 10 to 20 hours a week helping a worthy effort with not even a mileage compensation, let alone housing. Many wildlife refuges and state parks also have a "friends of ..." type organization that helps out with volunteers who just happen to live in the area and help without getting an RV pad. Schools many times have volunteers who help out. For that matter, some people even pay to go on volunteering vacations. If you aren't a person that would do something like that for no compensation, then you may just not be a volunteering type. That isn't good or bad, just the way it is.
Now, if the entity itself is a for profit organization such as a vendor contracting to run a campground, I have difficulty seeing someone performing services there as anything other than a workkamper, not a volunteer. I guess there are vague areas though, as with candystripers in a for profit hospital. I guess the candy striper effort would be providing things the patient wouldn't get for the price of the hospital stay and the candystriper gets a "warm fuzzy" from his or her efforts even if the hospital is for profit. That said, a lot of people needing workers, both in non-profits and for profit focused organizations, try and hide their desire to acquire cheap labor by calling it volunteering. But a volunteer doesn't have to do things that they don't like to do and so, before one invests many driving miles or other costs, the tasks to be performed by the volunteer should be investigated understood so the non-monetary "warm fuzzy" compensation of the volunteer is adequate for him or her.
Someone mentioned a while back about splitting off the volunteering aspect to a separate forum. I think that would be good, but maybe there isn't enough traffic to justify that, but they are separate concepts. Working for a site for more than 15 to 20 hours a week or so would seem to me to be too little pay, even if you have nothing other than minimum wage skills. But volunteering 30+ hours a week, with your sweetie working with you too, at something you enjoy and would willingly do free anyway (for a month or two at least) may make perfect sense, even if you could both make $100+ an hour in your rig writing software or other professional endeavors. If the organization happens to have an RV pad and some facilities available to make it easy for you to volunteer, so much the better. A good non-profit organization knows to take care of its volunteers. But if you don't enjoy the tasks, for whatever reason, the effort has then become a chore for you and you really should look for other work, since the value you receive will in all likelihood not be adequate when measured in money or money's worth.
Wandering Mike
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