Since we didn't have a Thank You Thursday this week, I thought I'd take today to give some special Friday props for what happens to be National Volunteer Week.
It's hard just being employed in the nonprofit sector; I remember oftentimes while working at organizations, I would get so frustrated and depressed for dedicating my life to such important work and, well, getting paid so little for it. After all, so many of my friends had jobs that paid them three times as much for simply helping CEOs get richer. But that frustration and anger seemed to just float away whenever I encountered our volunteers.
So many grassroots nonprofit organizations doing real groundwork towards social justice are largely volunteer-run. Let me repeat that: they are literally run by volunteers. Meaning they simply wouldn't exist without them, meaning the hundreds or thousands of people that organization serve wouldn't be the same without the individuals who willingly commit their time and energy - and for free.
I feel like the very word "volunteer" is often generalized as an altruism of the economically privileged - for folks who have the time and resources to "give back." But I'll say that at least in my experience, nearly every volunteer I've met were hardly raking in the dough or with crazy free time to spare. They had jobs, they struggled, and they volunteered. That still amazes me.
So on this beautiful Friday morning, here's a huge thank you to the volunteers out there making the world a brighter place to exist. Share your stories of volunteering in comments.
*picture courtesy of Girls for Gender Equity
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If only there was a megaphone attached to your post. I couldn't give a loud enough DITTO. Working at a non-profit, our volunteers and interns are our staff. Really. And we couldn't do our work without them.
Thank you for reminding us how special they are.
THANK YOU VOLUNTEERS!
at this moment i think i still fit within the privileged volunteer category. don't get me wrong, i have no money and my parents don't either, but my college has payed for all my volunteering experiences, including food, transportation and a nice place to live. i am so thankful that my college cares about doing service work, they have financed my volunteer adventures to peru, mexico, immokalee and SF. along the way i have met amazing volunteers, especially while working at a sexuality center in Mexico, where the volunteers were not only volunteering for free, but working other jobs so that they could pay rent for the space. amazing people.
I know that for me personally, the reason why my family volunteers/donates money when we have neither time nor excess funds is because we've been there and we know what a difference it can make. When my four siblings and I were little, my mother survived on 600 per month child support and I believe a part time librarians assistant salary, so at Christmastime a church group sent presents to us. Every year at Christmas I give that church whatever I can.
And yes, for all the people who give their free time and make even a small difference in someone else's life, they are the heroes without a doubt.
Well, uh, it's true that volunteers are economically privileged in some way. The street kids I used to work with didn't do volunteer work because they weren't in a position to do it economically; even the ones who had gotten off of the streets were too busy just trying to survive, not because they didn't care (many did). I realize most volunteers wouldn't be considered rich but they are definitely more economically privileged than a lot of other people. That doesn't take away from what they do at all, either, which you seem to be implying. And it's rather insulting to people who's income doesn't allow them to volunteer to make it sound like they could if they just wanted to enough.
I'll give you the benefit of the doubt and say that maybe that's not how you meant it, but that's how it came across.
I just started training to be a CASA (court appointed special advocate) for abused & neglected kids in the court and foster care system. It's a great program...if anyone is looking for a great volunteer opportunity, I highly recommend looking up your local chapter (just Google "National CASA"). Thanks for asking!
Me too! I'm really looking forward to getting involved.
One thing that stuns me is the near lack of male advocates. I think the statistic is that only 13% of CASA/GALs are male. In my training class of what seemed like 30+ people, there was only one man and he was there because he had recently retired and needed something to do.
In fact, a lot of the volunteers gave their reason for joining as, "I had a lot of free time and was bored," or, "I wanted to belong to something and meet people." It didn't seem altruistic at all, but I hope for them that the experience is rewarding for both them and the kids they help.
Great post. I have a busy schedule and an entry-level job with a less-than-stellar salary, and I want to do more volunteer work. The payoff is definitely worth it.