The word “volunteering” can make a person’s heart soar, or make them squirm. Volunteering your time, talents, and finances can be amazing, fun and admirable. However, volunteering can also be frustrating, disappointing and exhausting depending on your experience, perspective
Finding volunteer opportunities is easy if you know where to look. They are countless and they are everywhere. Here are some opportunities I’ve come across recently:
- Mission to Mexico to build houses
- NICU baby “snuggler”
- Girl Scout Boy Scout leader
- Youth sports coach
- Sports team mom
- Church (so many opportunities!)
- Humane Society
- After school club instructor
- Homeless shelter/outreach
- Library
- PTA/PTO
- Trash pickup
- Classroom parent
- Building a home for Habitat for Humanity
- Donating handmade goods to a charity event
The demographics for people who volunteer are across the board: retired persons, teenagers, college students, parents, people doing mandatory community services, etc. My perspective for this blogpost is from a stay-at-home-mom with two kids, ages 11 and 7.
For 16+ years, I worked a busy full-time job as a corporate communications manager, and until we had our first child, my primary volunteering experience was teaching the 2-3 year olds class at our church every Sunday along with my husband. It was fun, and only an hour a week – no additional commitment beyond that hour. Once our son was born, I stopped volunteering at church and focused on my full-time job and having a baby at home. But I looked forward to the day I could volunteer again.
Years later, when I was ready to volunteer again, I was eager and ready to conquer the world! But what I didn’t realize was how quickly I could over commit myself—in terms of time, money and resources. That realization gave me the desire to share the reality of volunteering and things to
Financial Consideration
By definition, a volunteer is a “person who performs a service willingly and without pay.” One day, I looked at my volunteering activities collectively and thought, “Wow, it’s like I have a job, but I’m not getting a paycheck.” Additionally, sometimes volunteering means you’re spending your own money to contribute to the cause. Be sure you’re aware what is expected in terms of your financial contribution (if any).
Tax Deductions
There may be some tax deductions when volunteering, such as:
If the volunteer uses their own car while performing services for a charitable organization they may deduct their actual unreimbursed expenses directly attributable to the services, such as gas and oil costs. Alternatively, they may deduct a flat $0.14 per mile for charitable use of their car.
H&R Block
That statement was taken from the H&R Block website, and volunteer tax deductions can be further explored here.
Time Commitment
You may find that your volunteer opportunity is truly a steady and predictable one-hour-per-week commitment. But often, your passionate commitment to the cause gets noticed, and you may be asked to do more… and then some more. Like a “real job,” there can be conference calls, in-person meetings, etc. associated with a volunteer position.
You can also find yourself in a position where you’re called to step in at a moments notice when another volunteer doesn’t show up for an assigned task.
Additionally, you need to carefully consider how the time you commit to volunteering fits in with your own schedule, including your kids’ schedules (their extracurricular activities are their own time commitment). The last thing a busy mama needs is absolutely no time for herself. For example, I teach in an afterschool club and my portion is only 15 minutes, but it takes me several hours each week to prepare this lesson. That’s a time commitment I wasn’t expecting when I enthusiastically agreed to volunteer.
Volunteering Can Lead to Paid Positions
One of the great things about volunteering is that in some cases, it can lead to an actual paid job within the organization. Sometimes an eventual paid job is the goal of volunteering, sometimes it becomes an added bonus to get paid for your passion.
Personality Conflicts
Even though you and the other volunteers (along with whoever is getting paid in the organization) are passionate about the cause, your personalities may not mesh, and you may not share the same vision. This disconnect between people makes volunteering a challenge.
Personal Growth
Amazing things can happen when you find a cause you’re passionate about and you’re able to dedicate your heart and soul to it. You may even realize new interests, talents, skills and passions you didn’t know you had.
Flexibility
Be aware that the duties of a volunteer position can change over time. Be prepared to be flexible and adjust your expectations as the volunteer position evolves.
Know When to Stop
When your expectations don’t match up with reality, you may find yourself irritated and frustrated with your role as a volunteer. You may feel overwhelmed and under-appreciated. If you cannot resolve these negative feelings, it may be time to step back—although if you’ve committed to a specific amount of time (say, for example, the entire school year) then you just may have to grin and bear it.
What if I Don’t Volunteer?
Not everybody is able to volunteer, and frankly, not everybody wants to volunteer—no judgment here! If you cannot volunteer your time, try looking for small, non-time consuming opportunities to get involved. For example, if you are unable to volunteer in your child’s classroom, but the PTA is asking for donations for “Teacher Appreciation Week,” be the parent who donates to the
Know a Volunteer, Thank a Volunteer
Though a volunteer position is unpaid, it should not be lacking appreciation. As in life, kindness and gratitude are wonderful! If you know a volunteer, thank a volunteer. There are so many things volunteers do behind the scenes that you may never be aware of and a genuine, “Thank you for all you do” will mean the world to them!
I recently laid out all of my current volunteering commitments to my husband, who said, “You do it all because you like to stay busy.” I thought about that statement for a moment and replied, “It’s not that I like to stay busy; I like to be helpful.” It has always been in my nature to want to step up and help when I see a need. But I am also in the process of learning that I am but one person, and I simply cannot take care of every need that arises around me. When considering opportunities to volunteer, it is important to master the art of politely saying, “No” when you don’t want to commit yourself to something.
When presented with an opportunity to volunteer—no matter the cause—I recommend taking time to evaluate the rewards, risks and time consumption of volunteering so you’ll be able to make decisions that best suit you and your schedule. If you decided to move forward and volunteer, embrace your new opportunity to make a difference, and give it your very best!
Find local volunteer opportunities at these websites:
I couldn’t have come across this post at a better time!! And with a glass of California viognier in hand, no less! Just wrote a lengthy email to my son’s preschool director about some initiatives I’d like to fund and volunteer for. As a full-time working mom (both are full-time jobs), I cringe to think of what these offers will do to my time and wallet, but I also feel great joy I’m trying to help the cause of early education—both for my own son as well as his peers and future generations. Cheers!