Volunteering is cool.

Yesterday was a busy day for Rob and me. We did some manual labor, and then we had a party. :) I'll just talk about the work part here. See my next post for the party pictures!

We decided it would be nice to do some regular volunteer work, so I researched places online. VolunteerMatch is an incredibly useful site that has many search options so you can find the best opportunity in your area, online, or providing help with something you specialize in.

Rob and I found something for Green-Up Orlando on the morning of the 27th. They were asking for people to come help with landscaping at Quest, which is a local non-profit to assist people with disabilities.

Green-Up Orlando basically travels the city and organizes volunteers to plant trees, repair landscapes, and generally brighten up the area while giving the environment a good dose of what's best: nature.

We thought that was pretty cool, so we signed up.

Saturday morning, we were pretty sleepy. :) Still, around 920 (a bit late, but I'm late to everything), we arrived at our location and went right to work. The people were incredibly cool -- we met Green-Up workers, Quest employees, and even a guy from a local country band called the Heathens!

Rob and I worked with another woman on moving mulch and covering tree bases, flower beds, etc. To tell the truth, I had no clue what I was doing. :) It was a good thing Rob was there, or else I probably wouldn't have known which end of the shovel to use! ;)

We shoveled, raked, and wheeled mulch around for about two and a half hours. That may seem like a lot of hard and boring work to do for free, but in a strange way it was some of the best fun I've ever had. I loved meeting the people and having a new experience. Rob said he loved helping good people.

It wasn't all work, though. We did take a few minutes off to have water and doughnuts in the breakroom. People came in and out, and they asked us if we were the "people who signed up online." Everyone was very welcoming.

My back, arms, and legs hurt today, but that would be the case after half an hour of Wii, too. Ah, the Wii. That's another blog entirely.

All in all, it was a pretty awesome way to spend Saturday morning. Green-Up even gave us cool T-shirts! We'll be sure to wear them at the next event. :)