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| Why Volunteer |
People volunteer for a wide variety of
reasons, especially wanting to help others. But it's also OK to want some
benefits for yourself from volunteering.
Some people are
uncomfortable with the notion that a volunteer "benefits" from doing
volunteer work. There is a long tradition of seeing volunteering as a form of
charity, based on altruism and selflessness. The best volunteering does involve
the desire to serve others, but this does not exclude other motivations, as
well.
Instead of considering volunteering as something you do for
people who are not as fortunate as yourself, begin to think of it as an
exchange.
Consider that most people find themselves in need at
some point in their lives. So today you may be the person with the ability to
help, but tomorrow you may be the recipient of someone else's volunteer effort.
Your Motivations
Think about how much you receive when you give and consider
why you want to volunteer. You may have several different reasons. Here are
just a few of the many possible motivations identified by other volunteers:
to feel needed
to share a skill
to get to know a community
to demonstrate commitment to a cause/belief
to gain leadership skills
to act out a fantasy
to do your civic duty
because of pressure from a friend or relative
satisfaction from accomplishment
to keep busy
to learn something new
to help a friend or relative
to feel proud
to make new friends
to explore a career
to help someone
to do something different from your job
for fun!
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You will probably have some
special reasons of your own. Remember that the motivations you have to select
the place to offer your services may not be the reasons why you stay. Once
you're on the volunteer job, you will continue to serve as long as you feel
that your efforts are accomplishing something, that your talents are
appreciated, and that you make a difference. And if you also like the people
with whom you work, so much the better!
As long as you are truly
serving through your volunteer work, isn't it wonderful that such an
exchange occurs? In fact, it tends to strengthen your commitment to
volunteering when you can see the benefits to both the recipient of your
efforts and to yourself. And it is much more comfortable than "charity" because
it upholds the self-esteem of those with whom you volunteer.
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