Be bold. Be cheap. WWOOF.

WWOOFing has been around for years and has helped generations of people live and travel on a shoestring. WWOOF originally stood for Willing Workers on Organic Farms, but has transformed into World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms. It works like this: You go to the farm of your choice and are provided a place to sleep, food to eat and new people to meet. In exchange, you make a civic contribution in the form of labor. Genius. Makes RecessionGirl’s heart go pitter-patter. Sounds almost free, but you have to foot the bill for your transportation of course.

The WWOOFing website can help you find local opportunities to get out of Brooklyn for a weekend or help you to cover costs on an around-the-world trip if you want an immersion experience. I know folks who have worked at vinyards in Italy, dairy farms in New Zealand and others who’ve picked olives in Greece. I helped make soap somewhere upstate New York last year and it was a very cleansing experience, ridiculous and sad pun intended. Don’t take my word for it. See how cheap and easy it is for yourself:

http://www.wwoof.org/northamerica.asp
http://www.wwoofusa.org/what.html

RecessionGirl Tip: As much as possible try to get a feel for the people you will be working for before you depart. While WWOOFing is generally fun, I have heard of some unfortunate stories where the host farmers were less than courteous and the living conditions would have provided a challenge for Sanford and Son. Exercise due dillegence and enjoy your open-air working vacation.

Be bold. Be cheap. Volunteer on an Organic Farm.

Especially if you are a dude. As RecessionGirl has researched this one for you, she knows for sure that Big Brother’s Big Sister’s (BBBS) of America has a ridiculous shortage of man-mentors for their program. Fellas, step up and represent your gender.

Mentoring through BBBS is a great way to give back to your community. Making the choice to participate in the program should not be made willy-nilly as being a ‘big’ is a substantial commitment. If you sign on and become a mentor, the contract period is for one year. Before I was RecessionGirl, I was a three year veteran of the program and now share a relationship with my little sister outside of the agency.

New York City is a great place to be a mentor as there is an endless supply of cheap stuff to do with your little brother or sister. Some of the highlights of time spent with my little sister include trips to the Coney Island Aquarium, the Big Apple Circus, The Bronx Zoo and The Museum of Natural History to name a few.

Ladies, I didn’t mean to ignore you on this one. Please show your support by mentoring too. Make sure to tell your man-friends that they ought to consider participation as well.

Click the link below and schedule an appointment to meet with a BBBS coordinator to learn more about mentoring.

https://aim.bbbs.org/einquiry/einquiryzip.aspx

Be bold. Be cheap. Mentor.