Mechanics are in demand all over. Finding one for work on a -8, perhaps not so much, expecially part time or volunteer.

Bear in mind that volunteering your time as a pilot won't make you popular. We're a paid profession; we are worthy money.

Keep the same frame of mind when approaching maintenance. We mechanics are professionals too; it's not a volunteer vocation, and those who offer their services gratis tend to lower the bar for the rest of the industry. It's our bread and butter.

In the airline world, doing line flying and maintenance is virtually unheard of, except for very limited maintenance test positions...even then it's either one side of the fence or the other.

There are many segments of the industry, nearly all outside of airline flying, where flying and maintaining go together. I got my first corporate job that way, though most corporate jobs are not that way. Fire, ag, some charter, and other kinds of flying (primarily utility flying) often employ pilots who are mechanics.

Pilots tend to be a little distrustful (and sometimes disdainful) of mechanics. Mechanics tend to feel the same toward pilots. Those who do both jobs sometimes earn the ire of both groups. Take it from someone who's done both for a long, long time.