I've been volunteering at the same charity shop for 3 years, and was a reliable volunteer each week. But in the last few months I have been spending a lot of time with my new partner (who lives quite a way away), which means I have got out of my rut (which is a good thing in a way). But this also means that I have less time to attend my voluntary job, plus I've been doing more days at my paid job so I'm unsure what I'm doing each week. To avoid mucking the people at my volunteer job about, I had to call in and say that I quit (in a polite way). My reason for quitting was not planned, it's just one of those things that just happened.
I have made a couple of friends at my voluntary job who want to keep in touch with me, and sometimes I call in if I'm passing by on a Saturday to say hello. But since I have left I get the feeling that I am not wanted by some of the people there. They don't ask how I'm getting on or anything. I just feel a cold sort of vibe towards me. The friends who want to keep in touch with me aren't like that. They WANT me to come by and say hi and go out for lunch during their break. But the others seem a little cold towards me. It might be my imagination but I don't think it is.
I wouldn't mind, but I have seen other volunteers quit but are still welcome back for a chat and a cup of tea, and everybody makes a fuss of them too. Should I take this personally against me, or is it just because I'm not really that popular? It does suck being unpopular, because it does make you feel unimportant. I would talk to the friends about how I feel, but I feel like I'm being catty or whiny. I feel I've done a bad thing by quitting my voluntary job. But I didn't have much of a choice though. I couldn't always make it every week, so I thought it would be easier on their schedule if I quit being a volunteer, rather than being a volunteer who just turns up randomly.
Sorry, but things like this often bother me.
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Female