What about volunteering for the relief effort at a port?

Anybody heard of volunteering to the local relief effort on a port stop? I've never heard of anyone doing it, and I'm not sure the Cruise line would consider it a risk to passenger safety. I'm talking about ports with planned cruise stops on islands that still need aid.

Burt

Have not heard of any. May be due to limited time at port and coordination needed.

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and the biggie.....liability

have you contacted any organizations already providing help in those areas??

I would think it would be a liability issue for cruise lines to offer such tours... I could be wrong

I don't think there's any way the cruise lines will offer it. I don't think they would get many people to pay for an excursion to volunteer and liability. You may be able to organize it on your own through a local agency.

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Absent specific skills, it is hard to visualize much positive impact. I also doubt the lines would want to involve themselves in potential liability.

Best bet is to identify a charity you trust and send cash.

Anybody heard of volunteering to the local relief effort on a port stop? I've never heard of anyone doing it, and I'm not sure the Cruise line would consider it a risk to passenger safety. I'm talking about ports with planned cruise stops on islands that still need aid.

 

 

 

Burt

One day hardly seems like even a drop on the bucket. I’ve thought of taking 3 months and seeing if Habitat or somebody could host me for a few months (my expense.) But even then, is what I could contribute as an semiskilled laborer balance with the food and water and lodging I would occupy? I applauded your interest, and I hope you can find a way for us to help.

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For years Crystal has offered a volunteer tour where people help but that is quite difference then what you are asking about.

I don't see this one happening.

Cruise Lines are helping in other ways.

Now someone on their own could try to help while in port.

Keith

Instead of volunteering, the best way to help people affected by these hurricanes is to give money to reputable relief organizations. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/22/world/americas/hurricane-maria-donate-charity.html

For years Crystal has offered a volunteer tour where people help but that is quite difference then what you are asking about.

 

I don't see this one happening.

 

Cruise Lines are helping in other ways.

 

Now someone on their own could try to help while in port.

 

Keith

This is where I was going with the discussion. I was wondering if anyone had ever volunteered on their own time.

Burt

One thing to keep in mind, a cruise ship won't be going to a port if the port isn't ready.

I have had experience in volunteer screening, training and management. (Not in disaster relief, which is infinitely more complex than most volunteer scenarios.) A "volunteer" just off a cruise ship for a few hours could be neither screened nor trained and would have to be supervised. At best you could be told to "stand here, do this". What is the "this"? If you don't know what the "this" is, then you would just be in the way. If you want to feel good about doing "something", then give cash or clothing to a legitimate rescue charity or devote weeks or months of your time in dedicated service.

I saw that a lady on the first ship back to Key West this week volunteered for 6 hours while in Port. Her husband and family went and spent money. She had researched volunteer opportunities before boarding her cruise.

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I saw that a lady on the first ship back to Key West this week volunteered for 6 hours while in Port. Her husband and family went and spent money. She had researched volunteer opportunities before boarding her cruise.

 

 

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This is the kind of responses I was looking for. Thanks.

Burt

This is the kind of responses I was looking for. Thanks.

 

Burt

Here are opportunities in the lower Keys:

http://www.keysunitedway.org/lower-keys-volunteer-opportunities

Part of the issue is some of these organizations require you to go through some training prior to volunteering, however, I have volunteered in a Katrina shelter and within 30 minutes, someone came to the training class and asked if any of us could come to the shelter straight away as they were completely swamped. I was put at the check in/check out desk, which I worked at for the next two weeks. They never did have me complete training and in fact, my volunteer record shows I completed it. We got a many busloads of the people who were in the Superdome and there were a lot of families who got split up on the buses causing a lot of chaos and confusion. I spent a lot of time welcoming people, directing people to the services they needed or people who were trying to donate stuff to the place they needed to go for that, and in one case, breaking all the rules to reunite a mother and baby - but you do what you have to do when you know it is the right thing to do.

At any rate, the key is to register to volunteer online beforehand.

I doubt very much this would work - by the time you were oriented, it would be time to go back to the ship.

I have had experience in volunteer screening, training and management. (Not in disaster relief, which is infinitely more complex than most volunteer scenarios.) A "volunteer" just off a cruise ship for a few hours could be neither screened nor trained and would have to be supervised. At best you could be told to "stand here, do this". What is the "this"? If you don't know what the "this" is, then you would just be in the way. If you want to feel good about doing "something", then give cash or clothing to a legitimate rescue charity or devote weeks or months of your time in dedicated service.

+1 from someone else with a similar background - while there's a chance of being able to find SOMETHING that a random cruise passenger can actually do, that would be actually helpful, to be totally blunt a few hours help on a port stop is primarily a 'feel good' ego-stroking experience for the visitor.

You will find only one consistent message from experts in disaster recovery (and pretty much any other kind of charitable endeavour too) - SKILLED help is worth having for the duration of the situation. For anything else, give money directly to well-known organizations that already have 'boots on the ground' or 'stuff being shipped' plans underway.

Anybody heard of volunteering to the local relief effort on a port stop? I've never heard of anyone doing it, and I'm not sure the Cruise line would consider it a risk to passenger safety. I'm talking about ports with planned cruise stops on islands that still need aid.

 

Burt

What a refreshing post.

I have no suggestions except perhaps there is a "good will" or school where you can bring a suitcase full of needed items and drop them off.

If that won't work then just spend money at the port and tip well.:D

+1 from someone else with a similar background - while there's a chance of being able to find SOMETHING that a random cruise passenger can actually do, that would be actually helpful, to be totally blunt a few hours help on a port stop is primarily a 'feel good' ego-stroking experience for the visitor.

I gave no information that implied any motivation in my question. I asked for no opinion of motivation, just an inquiry for information. If there were any.

With that being said, whatever anyone's reason to volunteer, contribute, or give their personal effort toward bettering the lives of those in need, no matter how large or how small that contribution, your unsolicited opinion is very sad. Not because you may be right or wrong, but because you have a very dark perspective of humanity.

Burt

I gave no information that implied any motivation in my question. I asked for no opinion of motivation, just an inquiry for information. If there were any.

 

With that being said, whatever anyone's reason to volunteer, contribute, or give their personal effort toward bettering the lives of those in need, no matter how large or how small that contribution, your unsolicited opinion is very sad. Not because you may be right or wrong, but because you have a very dark perspective of humanity.

 

Burt

Try years of rejecting volunteers who genuinely want to help but are unwilling or unable to go through the (totally paid for) training and time commitment to actually make a difference and I'm sure you'll come around to a more realistic understanding of why I think the way I do about such things. It's certainly not because I don't feel humanity isn't worth much!!!

I've been basically a full-time volunteer since I 'retired' at 33 - with ongoing regular volunteering from age 12, right through university and work (I even turned down jobs before that which would not allow me a flexible schedule to volunteer on weekdays). I can see where you're coming from, but my opinion is very solidly-grounded in real life experience as well as literally ALL the research I've ever come across on the topic of volunteering.

Please realise that I am not saying that your desire to help is not coming from a place of good will, love, and general wonderfulness - you are absolutely correct that any attempt to make a difference is a fundamentally Good Thing - but what I am attempting to make clear to you is that your plan for HOW to help is misguided. Even if it were possible for you to achieve something on a day in port, you could have achieved more by giving the equivalent cash from X hours of your time to the folks with the skills, experience, and local knowledge of what is MOST needed.

There's no shame in feeling good about volunteering - if I didn't enjoy it, I almost certainly wouldn't do as much of it myself - but please, please, please go and actually read up on the Red Cross or Doctors Without Borders websites about what is most urgently needed in the places you are visiting. Maybe there is Stuff that you could bring from home and drop off with the folks on the ground, but even then things change rapidly - handing over cash so what is needed most at the time can be bought in the right quantities and of the right type is the best thing that 99.9% of people can do for these situations.

Sadly, your experience of life has jaded your opinion of all people. You assumed to much about me from a simple question.

Burt

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With that being said, whatever anyone's reason to volunteer, contribute, or give their personal effort toward bettering the lives of those in need, no matter how large or how small that contribution, your unsolicited opinion is very sad. Not because you may be right or wrong, but because you have a very dark perspective of humanity.

 

Burt

Not everybody in this world needs your help or want your sympathy just because you think they are in need or living a miserable life. Have you ever considered this?

Sadly, your experience of life has jaded your opinion of all people. You assumed to much about me from a simple question.

 

Burt

Now who's making assumptions? ;-)

The entire reason I do so much volunteering is precisely because I think most folks are decent and worth helping... again, my critique of your plan was due to the ineffectiveness of it, not your reasons for wanting to do it. I should have used a more diplomatic turn of phrase - for any implication that you're only out to make yourself feel better, I apologise. As I obviously poorly explained, it's not your motivation that I'm critiquing - it's the almost-certainly minimal net result of your painfully-short time on site that makes such an exercise more about your own gain than the folks you help, even if you have nothing but good intentions (after all, they're what pave the proverbial road to hell...)

Studies on the psychology of altruism keep reaffirming the same points over and over - doing something good for others makes us feel good ourselves. I encourage everyone I know to volunteer - because when chosen appropriately, it's a win-win for them, the folks they help, and humanity as a whole. There's no point volunteering in a field that you don't enjoy - you won't stick around.

There are also many types of volunteer roles that require more time or training than most folks can give. The many, many folks I've turned away personally from hospice work for example, I have always suggested alternative ways they can help the organization other than in front-line patient care - the psychological toll of watching people die, counseling grieving families and so on is extreme.

I could go into detail about several fields I have personal experience of but suffice to say that there are opportunities for everyone - but if you want a one-off thing rather than an ongoing commitment, you're much better looking at local advance-planned events where whatever skills you have can be put to use. Regardless of your intent I can assure you that a 'one and done' visit to a disaster area, even if you are able to find something to do that is actually a net gain (as opposed to all the lost time for local organizers getting you to where you need to be and explaining what you need to do) would still have been less helpful than forking over the equivalent of your time in money.

That's not my opinion, but that of literally everyone who handles this kind of stuff. Friends with current and past MSF, Red Cross, and military disaster relief experience all say the same as the official line from such organisations - unless you have useful skills that locals do not, and you can commit a good chunk of time, the most useful thing you can do is send money in an emergency.

Here's a great link to get your research started - the Red Cross page about what it takes to become an international disaster response volunteer. It's much more likely that you may have skills and availability at home in your own community - but even those folks can be of tremendous help in Puerto Rico & other distant events, if they are e.g. helping to maintain IT systems or even helping with fundraising efforts.

All of the above is well-researched and verifiable - but I'm not even asking you to believe me. Go to the experts - educate yourself about how you can actually, personally best direct your desire to help others.