Carol Northcut | Wednesday, 10 August 2022
I have two retired friends completely immersed in two different volunteer organizations as leaders. Both want to make a difference, and they are. One seems to get a lot of satisfaction out of it and loves navigating the politics. Perhaps it’s because he thoroughly believes in the cause which, admittedly, is a good one. Perhaps he loves being “in the know” while making a difference. Or perhaps it provides him a sense of purpose in his retirement. I don’t know his mind, but whatever the underlying reasons, he seems to love spending up to 40 hours a week at it and is thriving.
The other friend also is making a big difference. She also is devoting up to 40 hours a week, but it seems to be draining her.It’s more time and energy than anticipated and, although she’s good at it, she doesn’t particularly enjoy navigating the politicsof the many personalities involved. So rather than invigorating her, it’s tiring. As with the first friend, I don’t fully know her mind, but I can see that she is burning out.
I’ve recently been reminded in my own volunteer work that there are different levels at which you can participate based upon your personal capacity and interest. You don’t have to be a leader but can volunteer just a few hours a year. You are making a difference and it also helps the leader. Otherwise, leaders become both one-person-bands and the band leader. They can burn out quickly trying to carry the load. No organization is perfect. None. But they become less perfect when there aren’t enough team members to help carry the load. It is the collective effort that ultimately gets things done.
The benefits of being a volunteer can be very satisfying. We did a river cleanup this last spring of a one mile stretch through town. Four volunteer organizations teamed up and in three hours we filled more than four pickup trucks full of trash. It was enormously gratifying to everyone involved. An added benefit was that we enjoyed the comradery of new friends.