After you move to Akron, Ohio, even if you were sent down there by your company to sell strapping equipment for the brick industry, you're going to feel lonely and out of place. You need to make new friends, new work contacts, find a new house, fill their social calendar, and more. This is especially difficult to do if you can't find a job right away. So what can you do? You can become a community volunteer. Here are some tips for finding volunteer opportunities that you will enjoy.

Do you like animals?

If you love animals, that's a great starting point for conversations and budding friendships, but first you have to meet other people who also love animals. You can't really do that at the new branch of your Alberta mesotherapy clinic. The solution? Volunteer with the Akron Humane Society. Humane Societies always need people to help them care for abandoned animals and raise funds to run their organization. As a volunteer you can walk dogs, play with cats, clean enclosures, help train out bad behaviors, and save the lives of abandoned or abused animals.

Do you like to work with your hands?

If your last job was in an Edmonton auto body shop, you've probably got some trade skills that can be very helpful to volunteer organizations like Habitat for Humanity. If you're trying to get established as a contractor or get a job in a trade, this can also be a good way to meet the other members of your profession. You might make a contact that can help you get a job, impress someone with your work and earn a paying client, or at least have something good to put on your resume.

Do you like to work with children?

For people who have experience helping children to learn to speak English in Canada, there are a lot of available volunteer opportunities in Akron. You could sign up with the local Boys and Girls Club, become a Big Brother or Big Sister, lead a troop of scouts, or help out on school field trips and bake sales. Kids love to get attention from grown ups who aren't their parents. Keep in mind though that you'll have to complete a criminal record check and a child abuse registry check to work with kids.

Do you like to help the needy?

There are people who are destitute and desperate in every city, and Akron has its fair share of people who need help. You can help them by designing PPC campaigns to raise money for organizations like United Way or the local homeless shelter. You could also volunteer to serve and prepare meals at a food bank or soup kitchen, counsel people on how to find jobs, or collect and distribute aid like school supplies and food baskets.