The value of volunteering: Empowering communities through selfless acts | Opinion
How do you feel about working for free? I’m not talking about a “real” job. Let’s not count taking your garbage to the curb or giving your toddler a bath. What do you think about picking up trash to beautify your city or donating some time to your church? How does that hit?
How do you feel about “volunteering” your hard earned cash to feed hungry kids or support the arts?
Your responses to these questions might be more delicate than we imagine. The idea of picking up crumpled candy wrappers might be well and good until we fear the potential of an aching back or the poke of a dirty needle. We might not find the extra funds to donate to a good cause until we have to deny ourselves a few iced vanilla lattes.
How do you really feel about offering up your time?
I’ll never forget a conversation I had with a member of my family 10 or 15 years ago. I don’t remember the exact context of our chat as ideas always flowed easily between us. I was likely complaining, feeling overwhelmed with my professional work, too busy and too stressed. I was also juggling care-giving obligations and volunteer commitments. My lament was clear: I didn’t have enough time or energy to do everything.
Or so it seemed. And then I got everything done.
The person I was talking to couldn’t comprehend why I’d add to my stressors by obligating myself unnecessarily. She wasn’t fully off the mark. Resentment can build when we don’t have enough time to decompress, when we give of ourselves too much. Paradoxically, good feelings can rise when we offer our gifts to the betterment of something that isn’t us.
All these years later, as I navigate a busy life, I still ask myself a similar question: “Do I really have time for this?”
The answer is complicated. Time isn’t really the issue, if we’re honest. We can generally find the moments to accomplish things that are important to us. The true variable is knowing ourselves well enough to understand what activities add meaning to our lives. Similarly, if we value philanthropy, we may have to pinch a few pennies, but we’ll find money to give away.
I made my choices all those years ago. I still make my choices now.
The perspective I ultimately shared with my family member that day encapsulated my personal philosophy. I’ve thought of it many times since: So many of our social structures wouldn’t exist in their fullest forms if it weren’t for the volunteers and donors that fuel them.
Simple as that. This is especially true for non-profit organizations. Houses of worship. Food banks. Animal rescues. They all benefit from your help. Domestic abuse shelters. Alcoholic Anonymous meetings. Nature conservation trusts. Volunteers are everywhere.
The people that set up the nets for the pickleball games at your neighborhood park do important work. So do the members of community service organizations like the Rotary or Lions Clubs. The fabric of our society would shred if we never stitched in our selfless parts.
As I contemplate the second San Joaquin Valley Bookfest that will take place on Saturday, May 3 at Fresno City College, I’m thinking about the volunteers who have stepped up to help with this project. I’m grateful for those individuals and what they have offered. With their generosity, our mission of celebrating books and ideas has blossomed.
Librarians have become integral champions for the event, these unsung heroes who know how to build programs and promote literacy. A graphic designer created our logo. Teachers are spreading the word. A website developer and an ice cream maker have shared their unique talents. So have journalists, authors, friends, and acquaintances. Even strangers I’ve just met have decided to help out.
Owners of a local bookstore will be offering their expertise to create a pop-up venue to serve Valley authors and those who want their books.
It’s impossible to make a full list of everyone who has supported this project with their time or money, but their altruism is apparent. They deserve so much praise. The personal resources we give away have meaning. Every bit of volunteerism counts.
Not all of our important work ends in a paycheck. A powerful synergy is created when fine people from different backgrounds come together to do something good for a community.
A book festival is about more than books. It’s about building a better place.