The Good Feed Blog Editors got fired up by today’s story about LA Dodgers Matt Kemp and Clayton Kershaw volunteering at a Habitat for Humanity homebuilding project.
But it made us realize that it’s sad we get so fired up over people volunteering. So what that they’re stars? They don’t need to give back? More to the point, they don’t want to give back?
We think most people want to give back, to help out, to volunteer. So why is every charity desperate for help?
Most of us will claim “time” as the reason. And that’s valid for a lot of people.
But, c’mon. We each can’t give two-hours a month to read at an after-school tutoring session, or pitch in to clean up a park, or throw a coat of paint on a school?
So, aside from time, what’s keeping you from lending a helping hand once in a while?
Photo by: vastateparksstaff
A suggestion for volunteering that addresses many of the issues brought up above: hold a food drive and deliver what you collect to your local food pantry or homeless shelter. This kind of volunteering has many advantages: 1. You aren’t put on anyone’s mailing or call list. In fact, you can deliver what you’ve collected without giving even your name if you choose. 2. You don’t need to make a long-term commitment or sign up to work on someone else’s schedule. You could do this just once and never again. You could do it a few times a year when… Read more »
Nothing, i just don’t want to.
No one is entitled to my help, it’s a choice and i choose not to help.
All of the above reasons and the fact that in today’s fear driven anger laced society the no good deed goes unpunished rule is always a possibility. Who wants to get sued. Many volunteer organizations are run or filled with “clipboard Nazi’s – no soup for you” – think home owners associations and the politics and power struggles among participants. It is really like high school and the popular kids again. Who needs the drama. These people get a clipboard and a little authority and run amok and be a power and control freak. As a result it is easier… Read more »
Me: I will soon, but we need another car. I get home from work late and then I need to cook dinner and help my daughter with homework and play with her (I am away from her several hours a day). Not having a car right now and taking trains here in Texas means I would be like 3 hours later getting home from any volunteer situation. for my husband: There are so many requirements. He used to volunteer for our church and then they changed hours. You have to go through orientations for many kinds of volunteer work and… Read more »
I’ve been thinking of doing some volunteer work for a long time now. I’ve done a little dabbling here and there, but nothing with real commitment. I fear it’s my own laziness at not making volunteering more of a commitment that I would have to follow through with. Afraid that it will impinge with the other activities I fill my time with. I need to step up my game in this department and make more of a concentrated effort to do some more volunteering. I think the key here is to do what you can do rather then make volunteering… Read more »
It’s said that 20% of church parishioners do 80% of the work. At my parish, we’re always looking for people to step up to the plate for a variety of programs and I have no idea why so many don’t. Most of the programs don’t require a lot of time. Next week will be my last class of the year where I teach CCD to 6th graders. I’ve already signed up for next year and have added a new program with transitional housing for the homeless. The problem is that most of the people I associate with are people already… Read more »
I totally agree. Using public transportation is limiting for me. I leave my office at 6 and don’t get home until 7:10. This is not New York. If I left to go to a church or Volunteer center or organization to volunteer I would leave at about 9pm. I might not get out in time to make the right connections. In our area the last bus comes at 10:15 and gets there at 11:30. I would miss about 5 hours away from our daughter and she is too young to stay alone. My grandmother could watch her a few nights… Read more »
This is all So Hamlet – To Be, Or Not To Be! Volunteering is about helping to solve problems, with a gift of empowerment, and most often the gift of time. I have found over many years (read decades) it’s not that people don’t want to volunteer – it’s how they want to do it that is the issue. If you give $100 to a charity each year it may buy as much as 4 hours of paid work! If you give 2 hours per week that gets calculated as over $2500 per year. Volunteers think of a gift they… Read more »
Well I just lost my comment because the site refreshes every few minutes, but anyway. I volunteer all the time but the poster above is right. People always try to take advantage of someone who gives up their time out of the kindness of their hearts. I give to charities and about every month I get a call telling me that I need to increase my monthly donation. I am happy to do that to what I can afford but after a while it’s like ‘come on, I’m doing the best I can to help, can’t you talk to people… Read more »
@Jamie .. a little off topic. I know, I’ve lost my comments many times. What I do is write it in my word program and then copy and paste it.
* No matter how much you much you volunteer, you will nearly always be asked to do more, to the point that if you don’t volunteer above and beyond your original comfort zone, you get guilt tripped. * Even if you’re good at saying “No” and rejecting guilt, you will still receive endless mail, calls, and solicitations from anybody you’ve ever volunteered for who has your contact info. * If you’ve ever donated your time or money to a cause or charity that turned out to have serious ethical problems or to be an outright scam, it makes you more… Read more »