More on loneliness and volunteering

A note to buttress what I just said, about volunteering not being as straight-forward as people make it out to be. Earlier this year, feeling lonely, I signed up with an agency that I won’t name. I met with a volunteer coordinator for a half an hour, explaining why I wanted to volunteer (I didn’t name loneliness). I provided references. I then attended a volunteer training session for 45 mind-numbing minutes. And then….nothing!

This doesn’t mean the organization is a bad one. It’s actually a really good one. But if I’d embarked on that whole process as a way of “ending” or “curing” my loneliness, I’d be left feeling pretty awful right now.