“How was school today, bub?”“Okay.”
“What did you do?”
“Stuff.”
“It’s so nice to have these mother-and-son talks.”
As a younger person, I had a continuous argument with my Mom. She did not believe in performing volunteer work for charitable and educational organizations. Mom argued that volunteers are not respected because they are not paid. That is, if the work was valuable, you would be paid for your efforts. She also argued that by volunteering you enabled nonprofit organizations to provide goods and services that rightfully ought to be provided by our government…that is by our entire society. Ultimately, her argument boiled down to “we pay for what we value.” The converse being that when we are unwilling to pay for something, it is obviously not valued irrespective of the lip service. For example, most people claim to value teachers, yet they are paid at the lower end of professional scales.
I argued that even if she was correct, government does not pay for goods and services needed by many people. What would she tell the hungry person in need of food? “Sorry we have no foodstuff because our volunteers took a principled stance against charities providing free lunches.” And how would she explain to the under funded library that it will just have to cope without volunteers shelving books, reading children’s’ stories, or handing out information. Of course, neither of us had spent any real time offering our services as volunteers. We were armchair critics. She had worked her entire life while raising a family. I had gone to school. I was not sure what I actually believed in terms of the worth of volunteering.
Then something funny happened. Mom retired to Florida and vowed never, ever to work again. She began taking a few courses at Florida International University. Then, she volunteered to lead an adult discussion course on current events for the University. Mom followed up on this by volunteering to lead another discussion group at the local library. Soon she was on the County’s library board of directors. Then she was heading up an arm of the Democratic Party. All unpaid jobs. I asked what led to her change of mind. She said, “I am enjoying each of these activities. They keep me energized.”
As a volunteer for several organizations, I too see things differently now. I do not believe I am engaging in volunteer work for the benefit of particular charitable and educational organizations or to serve the downtrodden because government has fallen short. Helping organizations fulfill their mission or picking up the slack for government are incidental benefits. I am engaged in volunteer work for me. When I worked, I was really serving my needs for security, ease, stimulation, validation, and companionship. I now believe that my volunteer work meets my current needs. It also keeps me from driving my spouse nuts.
I argued that even if she was correct, government does not pay for goods and services needed by many people. What would she tell the hungry person in need of food? “Sorry we have no foodstuff because our volunteers took a principled stance against charities providing free lunches.” And how would she explain to the under funded library that it will just have to cope without volunteers shelving books, reading children’s’ stories, or handing out information. Of course, neither of us had spent any real time offering our services as volunteers. We were armchair critics. She had worked her entire life while raising a family. I had gone to school. I was not sure what I actually believed in terms of the worth of volunteering.
Then something funny happened. Mom retired to Florida and vowed never, ever to work again. She began taking a few courses at Florida International University. Then, she volunteered to lead an adult discussion course on current events for the University. Mom followed up on this by volunteering to lead another discussion group at the local library. Soon she was on the County’s library board of directors. Then she was heading up an arm of the Democratic Party. All unpaid jobs. I asked what led to her change of mind. She said, “I am enjoying each of these activities. They keep me energized.”
As a volunteer for several organizations, I too see things differently now. I do not believe I am engaging in volunteer work for the benefit of particular charitable and educational organizations or to serve the downtrodden because government has fallen short. Helping organizations fulfill their mission or picking up the slack for government are incidental benefits. I am engaged in volunteer work for me. When I worked, I was really serving my needs for security, ease, stimulation, validation, and companionship. I now believe that my volunteer work meets my current needs. It also keeps me from driving my spouse nuts.
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