Now that my faithful six followers know the direction of this blog, I think it’s important to say that it can be somewhat of a pain to line up these community service projects I was bragging about.
You would think that most places in need of volunteers would answer the phone and say, “Yep, we’ll see you this weekend!” But from my experience it can take a little more effort than a simple phone call.
Personally, there are a few different things that have deterred me from giving back in the past:
1. Busy, busy, busy
· I don’t really have that much time during the week for any leisurely activities. A quality Facebook creep twice a day, a couple meals and an hour of taped reality TV before bed is my downtime. Fortunately, my jobs are flexible enough that I can call off on weekends, provided that it’s 2-3 weeks in advance. Even though it can feel like a big hassle or inconvenience, it’s definitely doable. Find what works for you.
2. Skepticism
· If you’ve never watched a commercial with a photo montage of abused animals at 3 a.m., bless your soul. If you don’t feel like crying and hugging your hound afterwards, you don’t have a soul. But for me, before I dial the 800 number at the bottom of the screen, the same thing always crosses my mind: “Is this money actually going to the poor little animals?” I’m guessing I’m not the only one who thinks this way. If you don’t feel comfortable sending your 15 dollars a month or have a tight budget, there are alternatives to donating money.
3. Apathy
· Before I started doing any sort of community service, I never really thought about it. It all started with a mandatory service learning project in an ethics course I took. Afterwards, I felt great. Regardless of how we like to think we are; a lack of action means an apathetic attitude.
4. Where to start?
· Finding a place to volunteer at can be surprisingly difficult, especially if you want to volunteer yourself to a wide variety of causes. It can be a little scary to make the call and inquire about what kinds of volunteer opportunities are available, and that’s understandable. Any change in a person’s life can result in hesitation. Once you get past the first call, it’s smooth sailing. On a different note, most places that need volunteers and donations can’t afford to pay someone to maintain a website (shocking). Some don’t have one at all. This makes it more difficult to find the places that need help the most.
5. The process
· Depending on the organization and the tasks you’ll be performing, volunteering can be a process. Some places require you to get clearances. Some have an application and interview process. Others might even require a volunteer to go through training sessions before they’ll let you help them out. However, there are a number of places who do not require any of those prerequisites making it really easy to volunteer on your own time.
If you have any of the above thoughts or problems, it’s possible to get past them. The reward of helping someone who needs it is way greater a reward than any of the negative attitudes or roadblocks you need to get through. From here, I’ll start to talk more about different places you can volunteer for and share some personal experiences.
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