Are Any of You in Any Clubs or Organizations?

[Agrippina]

I would call myself a loner, and defintely not a social butterfly. But I still want some companionship. I left college to take a break at the end of December, and have recently started a job as a cleaning lady. I'm pretty happy with my life, except it's rather boring and lonely. I have no real social stimulation anymore, as I am not in school and my job consists of just my boss and my two co-workers. They're nice people, and I'm hoping we can all do something.

But I've been thinking that I want to join a club or an organization. Perhaps acting or a writer's workshop. So I was curious to see if any Dopers out there were part of clubs or organizations and, if so, how did you find them (if they are out of a school setting)?

[Tripler]

Ya know, I asked a question like this a li'l while back.

Hopefully this helps (at least a little) (http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=154387)

I'm a current adult Assistant Scoutmaster of the Boy Scouts, and a member of some other ones. . .

Tripler
No, the Youncg Communists ain't one of 'em.

[Muffin]

I think it is important to give something back to one's community, and being able to do so and have fun at the same time is very satisfying. As far as broadening one's horizons goes, getting involved in a club is a terrific way of meeting people and developing friendships.

For me, it has been participation in a bunch of canoeing and kayaking organizations (http://www.tbaytel.net/culpeper/index2.htm). I presently coach a breast cancer surivor dragon boat racing team in addition to my usual instructing at canoe and kayak clinics and refereeing at health services charity fundraising races. I'm also part of a regional environmental organization. My life has been enriched by such involvement.

[yosemite]

I just joined the local Macintosh user's club. A fun group of people. I even won a door prize ($30 at CompUSA!)

[Eva Luna]

I'm a member of the Chicago Council on Foreign Relations (www.ccfr.org) and the Old Town School of Folk Music (www.ots.org), and have volunterred for both at various times. Lots of neat stuff going on there, and I've made some neato friends through both and generally had a great time and learned stuff.

[chique]

I'm just starting to get involved with the Red Cross. If your local chapter is anything like mine they'd love to have you.

[Magickly Delicious]

Hmm. Well I'm still in school, but I'll contribute:

Theater group--I joined set crew at my highschool years ago. Absolutely loved painting and building with a bunch of other kids. It's a huge time commitment, though. I fully intend when I get out of school to get involved in a community theater near me, doing sets or costumes or whatever else.

Assistant leader with Girl Scouts is fun, too. I ran a Marian Medal workshop years ago for Girl Scouts.

If you wanna try acting, definitely go for it! I tend to join crew first, so I can get an idea of what the director is like before I try out.

[Maxxxie]

I'm a member of a few volleyball groups. I don't know about other sports, but volleyball has a very social aspect to it, in terms of forming friendships that exist off court.

I met many of my friends through volleyball. I highly recommend it as a sport that rewards individual effort as well as teamwork - one cannot succeed without the other. I'm guessing many (most?) other team sports fall into this category.


Hope this helps :)
Max.

[Tsubaki]

The Association of Foreign Wives of Japanese (probably doesn't help you much, though!)

[Sunspace]

I'mamamber of the Esperanto-Rondo de Toronto, a great excuse for getting together every Monday night and yakking. Plus we have parties. :)

[Kyla]

I'm a member of the SDMB Elite Clique. Does that count?

[Ringo]

I knew it! I knew it!

[Ukulele Ike]

I used to be a member of the Historical Diving Society (http://www.hds.org/).

As they are based in Santa Barbara, California, and I am on the other side of the continent, membership afforded me the perfect level of sociability.

[Kalhoun]

I once joined up with the tree people to save the forest next to my house. They were very unorganized, but they managed to save it, so I guess it was rewarding!

[Kyla]

Originally posted by Ringo
I knew it! I knew it!

Well, yeah, cause you're in the clique too.

(Ooops, have I said too much?)

[Edward The Head]

I'm a US Masters swimmer and member of US Water Polo. We don't get together much except at pratice, though most of the people are a few years older and married.

[KarlGrenze]

I volunteer at the local humane society. I found it by chance, when I was applying last summer to work in vet clinics. They were the only place to accept me (that summer). I like the place, and like the work I do (cleaning, feeding, and playing with cats, answering questions).

I'm also part of the SHO, Student Honor Organization, which I'm a member just because I'm in the program. I rarely go to the activities, but once in a while they bring a lecturer that interests me and I attend. I also get free food. :)

UEPA, Unión de Estudiantes Puertorriqueños Activos, Puerto Rican student association. I'm an active member, participating in their get togethers, voting in the assemblies, and also participating in other activities with other Hispanic student associations.

[DaToad]

I'm not very active in organizations anymore but I'm still a member of the VFW and The Studebaker Drivers Club. I rarely attend any meetings or functions.

In the past, I was a member of Optimist International. It is a great service organization and we funded and participated in a lot of great projects. We bought the land and built two Little League Baseball fields, complete with bleachers and lights, and donated them to the city. For the three years I was there, we paid the rent and operating costs for the city's two Boys and Girls Clubs. We also supported a local orphanage. Being a part of this club was a terrific opportunity to do some community service.

Work related, I was a member of the Army Aviation Association, and the National Association of Purchasing Management. Up until 1992, I also participated in company sponsored sports leagues.

[Bearflag70]

I'm a member of Active 20-30 (www.sac2030.org).

It's a children's charity. We throw big parties with music, beer, and food. We sell tickets to the public and give the proceeds away to local childrens' charities. We have fun and help kids.

It's a very social group. It's kinda like Rotary for people in their 20's and 30's, but because we're "young" and throw parties, people think we're a "singles club" instead of a charity.

[CrankyAsAnOldMan]

I'm a member of the Junior League. It's a fabulous way to meet other women, but some JLs have a steep fundraising requirement which might turn you off.

I'm not a member, but our local ski club is known to be loads of fun. And not just for skiiing--they're a very social club and skiiing is a small part of what they do.

Sometimes our local bookstores will set up discussion groups. Sort of like an informal book club, you can read the current book and show up.

[Gatopescado]

I wouldn't stoop to being a member in any club that would let someone like me in! :D

I tried to start a chapter of AA, but they wouldn't let me hold meetings in the bar.

They wouldn't let me be "Best Man" at an all-girls school.

______________
"The sign says 'No Homers'. We already got one!"

[Eutychus]

AMORC

[Blackeyes]

Ah, my high school days....

Latin Club - Non-dues paying member
Meritless Humour Society (On a sign it looks almost like NHS. There's a running gag on that)
Set Club (Just an excuse to get together after school and play various gameshow-type games)
Thesbian Club - Non-attending member
Cross Country - The roughinest, toughinest of all high school sports. I'm lookin right at YOU, Football.

And I was also the founding member of our chapter of the Veterans of Future Wars.

[Blackeyes]

Oh, and I quickly approacheth One Thousand posts. Shit, I gotta come up with a freakin' speech or a great new catchphrase or something fast!

[Agrippina]

Thanks for all the suggestions! I do have one question though---where can one find out information about clubs/organizations in their city? I've tried looking through Google, but I wasn't quite interested in the listings and I know there has to be much more. Someone mentioned once going to the Chamber of Commerce. Would they have a list?

Magickly Delicious, you mentioned community theaters. Do they normally let anybody in who is interested? I always got the impression that most community theaters were set up through local colleges and the colleges' acting classes. But that may just be part of my imagination! :D

[Magickly Delicious]

I know that the local radio stations are great for announcements of meetings of clubs and stuff. Also, find your local newspaper/tv station website--they often have a 'community calendar'.

I know my local community theater will pretty much let in anbody to do crew-type stuff. As long as you can make the time commitment, although I haven't done it myself yet. My community theater is pretty independent and has no link to the local college. Um, darnit, it has no website, but try here (http://www.curtainrising.com/) as a starting point to find local theaters.

[KarlGrenze]

bean, the local theater-fine arts center is sponsored through an organization/members, not by the university and community college (they have their own fine arts organization). You have to pay to be in the membership, but you get discount tickets for the foreign films they show and tickets for some of their productions.

[Johnny L.A.]

I'm a member of AOPA, but I know that's not the kind of organization the OP means. I used to be in the Civil Air Patrol. I might join an MG owners club once my car is restored. Of course, I'm a member of The Straight Dope Message Boards and interact with Dopers online and IRL.

[Woeg]

I'm a member of the Society for Creative Anachronism, also known as the SCA, a medieval re-creation organization that promotes learning about pre 17th century history. Oh, and its also a good excuse to beat up your friends with sticks and drink beer. Good times...

[Jonathan Chance]

Hmm...

The Direct Marketers Assn (Our motto: We inundate you!)
The Elongated Collectors (A squished penny group)
Amnesty International, does that count?

[Johnny L.A.]

The Elongated Collectors (A squished penny group)
Heh. I have a penny that was flattened by the Freedom Train back in '76. (Had I been thinking, and if I wasn't just a kid, I should have used a Bicentennial quarter.)

[Biggirl]

I am an active member of Celebrate Brooklyn (http://www.brooklynx.org/celebrate/default.asp).

My husband is on the board of The Prospect Park Alliance (http://www.pps.org/topics/pubpriv/whybuild/tupperthomas) and I participate in the Prospect Park Community Committe (affectionatly known as "com com" by the rest of the Alliance.

My husband is also on the Board of Directors of FAC (http://www.fifthave.org/) and I do plenty of volunteer work here.

I also belong to Romance Writers of America (http://www.rwanational.org/).

When I was in college I was the Brooklyn College chapter secretary of MYPIRG (http://www.nypirg.org/). Now I just send them money and go to their cool events. They don't have much use for us non-college students outside of staff.

[Biggirl]

That should be NYPIRG and not MYPIRG. I previewed and everything.

[vanilla]

Green Party
John Birch Society
PTA


hee hee

[Munch]

You can bet your sweet ass that I'm in the Turtle Club.

[Oicu812]

Vanilla, you are EVIL. Gotta love it!


"I'm a faithful follower of the Brother John Birch"


O

[ryan]

SCA
NRA
RPGA

I'm a nerd and I'm armed, damn it!

[Balance]

Originally posted by ryan
SCA
NRA
RPGA

I'm a nerd and I'm armed, damn it!
With both blades and firearms, no doubt. :)

I'm heavily involved in a LARP (Live Action Roleplaying) group called the IFGS (International Fantasy Gaming Society). There are many others, and most of them are good fun with interesting people. I think the Vampire LARP is the most widespread, and involves the least physical effort. Basically, LARPing is a sort of large-scale improvisational acting, sometimes with costuming and combat thrown in. You make up characters (based on the guidelines of the game), and get together with other players in costume and in character to do things. I recently described an IFGS game I ran as "a play in which half the cast knew their character, but not their lines, and the other half was pulled from the audience at show-time".

Shameless plug: Try www.ifgs.com to see if there's a chapter near you. The links page also has links to some other LARPs.

[Jonathan Chance]

Originally posted by Johnny L.A.
Heh. I have a penny that was flattened by the Freedom Train back in '76. (Had I been thinking, and if I wasn't just a kid, I should have used a Bicentennial quarter.)

Technically, that would be a 'squashed' penny.

But we like you anyway.

[Ringo]

bean_shadow, you are a member of a very social organization; the one whose message board you've posted to here. I've certainly met some folks here.

Group hug for bean_shadow!

[Paul in Qatar]

I am a Freemason. Masonry is the oldest and largest fraternal organization in the world. It gives me great pleasure to be a Mason. Anything that ticked off Hitle, Franco, Stalin and Mao can't be all bad!

There is a lot theatre people in Masonry, espcially in the Shrine and York & Scotish Rites. The Y or S Rite building in Omelas_(Wherever the heck that is) undoubtedly has a fully-equipped (and under-used) theatre.

We support a number of charities, the best-known of which are the Shrine Hospitals for Sick Children. All over the US of A and (to a lesser extent) around the world Shrine hospitals provide free medical treatment for children. Never a means, or religious or any other sort of qualification required for the family.

If you need more information, please shoot me an e-mail.