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Notes -
Does anyone know of any community involvement clubs/organizations similar to things like the Lions Club, but much cheaper to belong to?
Edit: also, does anyone know how much volunteer work a disabled person can do before Social Security decides your ability to do so means you're able to (do paid) work and stops your benefits (which I've been advised recently is a thing that indeed happens)?
Those service clubs vary greatly between local chapters. My local Lions Club is not expensive at all to join, but some locals are - often, that's because they are primarily networking clubs for businesses that also do charity on the side. And those networking-heavy chapters kind of want to keep the rabble out.
If your local Lions are expensive, you can check if one of the other "classics" is somewhere near you: Rotary, Kiwanis, Zonta (female only), Soroptimist (female only), Round Table (male, under 40).
"Expensive" is relative. My local Lions Club here in Anchorage appears to be pretty average in its fees… but that's still outside my price range, given my poverty.
To put it more clearly, $40/mo. is outside my price range.
From their webpage: "Clubs accept new members by invitation" from a current member, and among the many membership requirements include having "A professional, proprietary, executive, managerial, or community position." I'm a jobless welfare parasite.
It appears to indeed be cheaper in terms of membership dues; however, looking at the application, it's another one where you need to be sponsored by an existing member. (Plus, the local club here in Anchorage meets via Zoom, which my internet quality isn't up to supporting.)
I'm male, so those are out.
Invite only; there doesn't appear to be a local club, and I'm too old (I'm in my 40s).
Thanks for answering, at least, but it looks like I'm just out of luck.
All those traditional service clubs are invite only, and so is every Lion's local I know. They are all very similar in vibe.
Joining on your own initiative (as opposed to being surprised by an invitation) is more of a serious long-term project for all of them, unless your local chapter is very young and small. Basically, you make contact with them and then work with them on a few projects - usually from a position where you can give them something they need. And speaking of serious: once you join, being a member is often also a pretty serious project. All clubs I know meet several times a month, and attending meetings is really not optional. If you don't come, you'll be missed, and you need to excuse yourself. If the club is doing a project, participating is not really optional. The club needs to be a very high priority, always.
But there are other options. If you want to do service, you can also look at Red Cross, Goodwill, your local food bank, shelters, or which churches do services beyond fund raising. Hospitals and nursing homes often also have volunteers doing service work.
Thanks some more. So, I hope that this is enough so that, the next time /u/hydroacetylene tells me to "join a community org(lions club is always recruiting)," I can point him to all this and tell him to shove it.
There are probably regional differences at work here. Until reading this thread, I’d never heard of a Lions club that charges extortionate dues or has exclusive rules about membership. Certainly the ones in my area will take just about anyone, even though in practice the members tend to be almost all retirees these days.
The Rotary Club, by contrast, have always been exclusively for professionals, as are usually all of the Masonic organizations.
If you’re just looking to volunteer and connect with people that way, what about any local soup kitchens or food banks?
What do you define as "extortionate"? The problem is that what most people would consider perfectly affordable dues are outside my price range. It's the same thing as with gym memberships, or any other of things people recommend to me on the assumption that anyone who lives in America and can get online can spare an extra $30~$40 a month for something.
Well, the original context was more about politics: that if I want "socially conservative institutions and communities, go and join them" (as opposed to waiting for a Caesar).
The two local organizations I am part of have dues of $20 and $45 annually. I wouldn’t remain a member of either if they charged that amount monthly. I believe the local Lions clubs have annual dues that are in a similar price range, though I don’t know the exact figure.
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