1. Volunteer at a VA Hospital or Clinic. Volunteers can do anything from push a wheelchair to man a phone line. Also, while this is not official through the VA volunteer system, some vets are forced to undergo painful outpatient minor surgical procedures WITHOUT ANESTHESIA because there is no one to drive them to and from their appointment and VA policy forbids them riding a VA provided bus after having anesthesia. You can be real friend to a vet by "unofficially" driving them to a surgical appointment.2. Volunteer with your local Police Department or Sheriff's Dept. Many departments have an unpaid volunteer service corps which frees up sworn officers for more important tasks. You duties may be answering a phone, sorting citations, making copies, filing or just running errands. In some cases, your duties may be more interesting depending upon your skillset and background. Some larger departments recruit people with a professional background to advise their detective and intelligence divisions in their area of expertise. Smaller departments often just keep a phone list of trustworthy experts. This work may be highly confidential but it is also highly rewarding.
3. If you are ordained, become a Police Chaplain. The requirements are pretty stiff. Mail order ordinations and informal calls won't cut it. But, if you meet the requirements, it offers an opportunity to show the love of Christ to people in really difficult situations. Among other duties, Police Chaplains often do death and serious injury notifications.4. Volunteer at your local university. Student professional organizations are frequently looking for local professionals to advise and mentor students in their discipline. Someone with real world experience in a profession can make a lasting impact on young people just starting out.
5. Volunteer with a disaster relief organization. These organizations can use all kinds of talent and it is not all field work. They always need clerical people, skilled administrators and technical people. It takes several people in the background to put one emergency responder in the field.
6. Volunteer at a nursing home. It is highly likely that within a few blocks of your home,
there are elderly, bed ridden people who never have a visitor other than their caregivers. They have no family or their family doesn't visit. A few hours per week chatting or reading to these folks can make a real difference in their lives. The need for human social contact never goes away even if you are warehoused awaiting the inevitable.
These are just six of hundreds of ways a Christian can affirmatively show the love of Christ to the their community by actually doing something useful.
