Recently my friend Paul was installing a new appliance in my home, for free, being the good guy he is. The job was taking about five times as long as I’d told him it would, and I apologized.
“That’s OK,” he said. “I’d rather do this than work on my own stuff.”
I had to laugh. I also prefer volunteering to the responsible, paying, build-up-your-net-worth kind of work. Even when the job is dull, tedious, or takes too long.
When I moved to Alamosa 15 years ago, I decided to contribute time to my new community, to really be a part of things. Since then, I’ve bagged powdered milk at the food bank, answered phones at public radio station fundraisers, and judged science fair papers.
I’ve collected money at the Habitat for Humanity dinner (I got as many hugs as checks) and sold used books for the library. I’ve inventoried, reviewed, written, counted, and pasted.
And I’m not alone. According to the Corporation for National & Community Service, Coloradans give of themselves at a rate above the national average. In 2006, we gave an estimated 122.5 million hours, a formidable amount. CNCS says that 36.3 percent of us volunteer in some way.
And we help ourselves as well. Medical research is indicating that there are health benefits to volunteerism. Apparently giving helps us function better, live longer, and avoid those nasty depressions many are prone to. Helping others helps ourselves.
Closer to home, the city of Alamosa operates with seven volunteer boards, from the arboreal and recreation advisory boards to the library’s board of trustees. The 42 people who volunteer on those boards attend at least one meeting a month, in addition to research and other non-paying projects. And that number doesn’t include the coaches and donors to various city-sponsored youth programs.
“As a city, we could not function without the efforts of our citizens in these volunteer positions,” said City Manager Nathan Cherpeski. “They bring a wide variety of experience to these tasks that we could never afford to hire.”
I’m now doing the board thing, helping guide a couple of key institutions in my town. The administrative role is a new one for me, and the demands are different.
There’s more work involved, more hours required, and the rewards are not so immediate. Especially when a meeting is trudging into its third hour and my eyes, which have been on duty since 6 a.m., are feeling like they’ve been dragged through a sandbox. That’s when I gulp another hit of caffeine, knock my arthritic ankle against the table leg and order myself to focus as we continue our debate on a new home for a food co-op or vote on whether we should lower the price of copies at the library.
Volunteering isn’t all about planting trees and handing out food boxes. Sometimes it’s a pain in the trasero. But the rewards are worth it. Seeing a new home dedicated where there was none before. Watching a tree grow on what was bare ground. Seeing a child’s face light up after he reads his first full sentence.
It beats the daily grind into dust.
So if you have some time and energy left over in life, think about giving it to a worthy cause.
Evaluate yourself, then check into the options. Ask your friends what they do. Many communities have clearinghouses that match potential volunteers with jobs.The Retired and Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP) is a good path toward good work, and has programs listed by state.
Or go directly to a cause you feel an affinity for and say, “What can I do?”
Be a local hero.
