I grew up doing a lot of volunteering. My friends and I set up our town’s first paper and aluminium recycling program which involved a lot of sorting of rubbish and jumping on cans to squash them flat! And my first year overseas was volunteering for a peacebuilding organization. And then I moved into the ‘professional’ international relief and development world. Working long hours. Really long hours. And during that time, I did little volunteer work. Either when I was in the countries where the work was being done, or when I had moved to the US. (By volunteer work, I mean things that I’m doing without financial payment, but in a quasi-organized fashion – more formal than the helping out of a neighbor or friend who is sick). I watched friends and family putting lots of volunteer time in on a variety of projects, both at home and overseas and justified why I wasn’t like this to myself: If I was working 60-80 hours a week then I should be spending the rest of my time with family, friends or (heaven forbid!) thinking about my own needs. Volunteering is really important, but for people with more time than me.
My mindset shifted during the pandemic when I volunteered regularly to help at the big vaccination centers in Portland – in spite of having more work than ever to do as my organization was pivoting how to work across the globe. At first I showed up in in a huge parking lot at the airport and then later, at the convention center, helping to vaccinate thousands of people a day. I had the most basic of tasks – helping to move people through the lines efficiently and compassionately. And it felt great. And differently fulfilling to my regular work. As I started a new professional chapter, I started to build in more intentional volunteering – some in organizations and institutions that are personally important to me (e.g. advocacy, my kids schools etc.) and some for causes that I believe in (e.g. Food Banks). And to be fair, it’s still a really small proportion of my time. But I’m glad I’m doing it. Even as I also feel some shame that I’m not doing more.
This isn’t an article encouraging anyone to do more or less volunteering. But here are my takeaways about why it matters to me and questions to think about:
- Can I do something volunteering that I couldn’t do otherwise – does this nourish part of me that otherwise doesn’t get tended to? I am so grateful for jobs that allow me to think big picture but I also love the opportunity to get really hands on in the work. I love packing food boxes at the Food Bank because I can tangibly see the product of the work.
- At the end of volunteering do I walk away feeling my bucket is more full – or that I have been taken for granted? I feel ‘full’ when I have done something handson where my time was clearly needed (I don’t need to be appreciated but I hate it when I show up and there is clearly an excess of volunteers and I feel I am put on busy work).
- Do I have a sense of the ‘why’ I am volunteering in this particular capacity? Is it because of the cause, or the community or the type of work? Is it because it aligns with my values or because I am using it to get experience in something I wouldn’t otherwise get to do.
- How do I feel after volunteering? Sometimes I come away feeling simply happy and satisfied. At other times I come away with a sense of anger that this is something that society doesn’t value enough to pay for properly. When I feel this anger, I also ask whether there is anything else I want to do to help change the system. There is an importance in triaging but there is also an importance to changing the status quo.
- When I have regular volunteering built into my life, do I feel as though I have more or less time in my week? The obvious answer is less right? If I am adding something in, then I have less time for other things. Literally. But it doesn’t necessarily feel like that to me and I’m not quite sure why. Maybe it’s to do with how my energy feels, or how I approach time. Who knows. But I do know that when I am starting to feel like I am trying to tetrus (is that a verb these days or does it just date me?) even more in, then I have got something wrong.
Note: Photo has little to do with the article except that it signifies abundance and is the first time our garden has ever produced more than a smattering of any produce!
