I had meant to get there on Wednesday. I didn’t make it till Saturday. I missed all the action of volunteers stacking cans, building incredible CANstructions—a snake, a train, and the Empire State Building. I was sick in bed, and by the time I got there three days late, all I could photograph were the results. As incredible as they were, the results weren’t the story I was after.
I really wanted to see young people at work, volunteering to help the Food Bank of Northern Nevada by collecting cans of tuna, or corn, or beans, and then building something fantastic. I wanted to write about their excitement and energy. It didn’t work out. That happens. Still, I did find something to talk about—results.
Results are important, but results are my Achilles’ heel. I can get too focused on the goal, succeeding or failing, and lose touch with the value behind what I am doing. When it comes to volunteering, losing touch is a big sacrifice. I forsake the joy of giving and get all tense. (more…)
Sandie and Donna wanted to talk about definitions. These two long-time friends were ready for a good discussion and they weren’t afraid to challenge my assumptions. I had come to ask them how they felt about volunteering, but their comments about the definition of volunteer proved far more valuable.
Sandie and Donna have big family obligations. They are always on-call to help with their many grandchildren—with doctor appointments, early school pick-ups and such—so their children can work. As Sandie said, “In some ways we are volunteering, although it is not the traditional definition of volunteering, because we are giving up our time when they call us.” She added, “You get up in the morning and think the whole day is going to be yours, and then the phone starts ringing.”
That is why my questions about traditional volunteering irritated Sandie just a little. “I’m doing all these things, but they don’t count.” Mentoring grandkids, counseling unemployed family members, taking care of elderly parents—all of these would be considered volunteer positions if they involved clients who were not family members, and so they should have equal value. “If you are taking care of your family,” Donna made clear, “then they won’t need outside services.” (more…)
Joyce is a nuts and bolts kind of gal, literally. She volunteers at the Truckee Meadows Habitat for Humanity Discount Supply Store, and she sorts, among other things, nuts and bolts. She’s a real fun person to be around, but she also is very pragmatic. She has some great advice for those looking for the perfect place to volunteer—shop around.
Joyce has always been a person who helps out, but while she was working and raising a family she lived with an ultra-tight schedule. When she retired, she didn’t want a schedule, so she was very careful not to jump into any regular volunteer commitment for the first year. She shopped around, doing random opportunities like one-day events with her friends. Joyce says, “I held back from commitment because I was afraid if I didn’t take the time to have an unscheduled life, I wouldn’t know how to retire.” It makes perfect sense, and that’s Joyce. She’s down-to-earth and practical. (more…)
Sometimes, when on a journey, it’s a good idea to ask for directions. And who better to ask than someone who has been on the road for a while and understands where it might lead?
Margaret is such a person. She is very well-traveled on the ‘volunteer road,’ and her desire to help came early. Even as a small child of 4 or 5, she remembers an old man across the street who was limping along in obvious pain. She can still feel the strong impulse to run across the street, hug him, and make him feel better. That natural empathy led her to become a nurse and a volunteer in public health and prison ministry.
It’s the sparkle in her eyes that lets you know what she’s gained from the journey. After all those years of serving others, Margaret can sum up the power of volunteering in a concise yet profound way—“To be really happy, you have to give.” Margaret feels that any satisfaction found from acquiring things, especially possessions, is only temporary, and she attributes her excellent health and energy to her good fortune in learning how to give. (more…)