I have a lot of volunteering experience in my life & continue to spend a lot of hours doing so.
I have volunteered doing the following:
- with animals (shelter, rescue, assistance dog orgs)
- coaching sports (mostly youth leagues, some afterschool programs, also for athletes with disabilities)
- at a religious organization (mostly teaching but also doing other social service, like meals or visiting or people who are sick/elderly)
- at museum, aquarium (docent, educator, etc.)
- civil rights orgs (using professional experience)
The best experiences have become a real "third place" where I have community and friends who share similar passions. The average experiences are things you do for a while that you enjoy & feel like you're making a difference. The worst experiences were a lot of drama and ego or just disorganized/dysfunction.
In some of these instances, I got really involved, took on leadership positions. In others, I simply appreciated an org that used a lot of volunteers where you could sign up for your "shift," volunteer, and go home - no drama or other involvement or expectations. It seems pretty common for some volunteers to think that the minute they show up, someone is going to give them an "important" job or that they know how to run the org better than people who have been doing it for a long time. Good orgs do a nice job weeding these people out, which makes the whole thing a lot more enjoyable for everyone else. :)
I think it's important to try things out and realize that if one thing isn't a good fit, there is always someone else who would be happy for your contribution.