A non-profit organization I volunteer for recently received some criticism on social media about how they depend mainly on volunteers rather than paid employees. One person even used the phrase exploitation in her criticism. I have been so tempted to respond, but I know that replying to negative comments on social media is rarely fruitful.
I am a serial volunteer. At the moment, I am volunteering for four different organizations/groups simultaneously. This is not normal. Most people do not or cannot commit to that much, but for me it is what I enjoy most. I purposely chose a part-time job so that I could have time to focus on the volunteer work that I enjoy. I am lucky that I am able to make that decision and super grateful that my husband supports my volunteer habit.
Why do I volunteer? Ultimately, it is so rewarding! I love being able to put work into a project and see the result of that effort. One of the organizations I currently volunteer for is the USO. Our local USO office is super active and always has something going on. There have been many times where I have volunteered for a cooking/baking shift and then volunteered at the giveaway shift and it has been amazing to see the genuine appreciation and happiness that brings people. Another organization I volunteer for is the local military spouses' club where I serve as Membership chair. Seeing all the new members join and sharing all the fun things we do together brings me joy. The spouses' club, because of our well-performing Thrift Shop, is also able to donate a massive amount of money in welfare grants and scholarships to our local community. Being a part of that is exciting!
Another reason I love to volunteer is because it is flexible. Of course there are hard deadlines even with volunteer gigs, but most of the time the work is on my own time and schedule. If I have a busy week or we are traveling, it is so much easier to put down a volunteer responsibility. It is not as easy with a paid position.
Volunteering also helps me explore skills that I am not able to cultivate very easily in the workforce. One thing that I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE is social media marketing and creating graphics. I am completely self-taught so there is little chance that I would be able to obtain a paid position doing that kind of work. But volunteer work is a lot easier to come by. Without volunteering, I would not have discovered that passion. I am about to pursue a Master's Certificate program in Social Media Marketing which could possibly lead to more opportunities of a paid position in that field, but without the volunteer work first I would not have known that is something I enjoy doing.
Volunteers are also treated a little differently than paid employees. This was a discussion we recently had during a Military Spouse Advocacy Network (MSAN) meeting. Because volunteers are not paid, the standards and expectations are less strict and more flexible. It is nice not to have the same pressure that a paid employee has. There is something to be said for having goals and accountability and when I was President of my last spouses' club I struggled with how to keep volunteers accountable for their responsibilities while being mindful that they are volunteers. Being a part of MSAN has been helpful for me to see that modeled in an effective way. MSAN starts off every volunteer experience in a professional manner, as if it were a paid position. They have an HR department. We have required training modules. We have team meetings. We sign paperwork. It is all official. But they also understand that we are volunteers and have other things going on in our lives and are always checking in to make sure the requested workload is not too much. It is set up in teams so that if one person has a lot going on, we can lean on each other and pick up tasks from each other. MSAN also makes a huge effort to show appreciation to all of their volunteers which is a important key to successfully maintaining a volunteer "workforce".
Last, for those familiar with the Five Love Languages, you will recognize Words of Affirmation as one of the love languages. That is my primary language and volunteering often fulfills me in that area. Volunteers are often recognized formally more often than paid employees are (at least from my experience in the workforce). This is another reason that I get so much enjoyment from volunteering. I enjoy being recognized. I enjoy being appreciated. It can be simple thank you's, a free dinner, a certificate or even a "major award." Sometimes, I will admit, this is a major reason why I volunteer. I feel a little guilty admitting that, but it does not negate the good that comes out of the time I give. The USO has a really great volunteer appreciation program where after certain levels of volunteer hours you receive fun USO swag. A friend and I volunteer at the USO together often and we always joke that we are working to get the fancy gold nametag that you receive after 100 volunteer hours. In the end, it is just a name tag, but knowing that we earned it is the exciting part. Sure you can earn a paycheck, but somehow the things you earn as a volunteer feel so much more special.
Volunteering is not for everyone. I have noticed in every organization that I have been a part of that there are some volunteers that give an exceptional amount of their time to the cause. Organizations thrive on those individuals. And I know that every one of those organizations wishes they could pay their volunteers their worth. Unfortunately that is not always possible in order to maintain the programs and projects that make up the mission of that organization. That is the nature of non-profits. And that is why I will continue to volunteer and encourage others to join me.
