Volunteering, what's in it for you?

Today at my political website, South by Southwest, I wrote about the importance of citizen participation in the political process. The writing took me back in memory to the days when I was actively involved in volunteering for a variety of causes in my local community.

Those days of working without a paycheck brought me other riches. As a member of the League of Women Voters, I got the equivalent of a degree in government. I learned how county government worked, how fair elections come about and how to influence policy change. Making a difference can be heady stuff.

Volunteering brings a certain freedom of action and independence. Though volunteers in agencies or large organizations are most often supervised by paid staff, they are always free for the most part to set their own timetables, vacations, and job descriptions. In later years I was one of those paid staff supervisors, and I was acutely aware of the power those volunteers wielded.

Volunteering puts you in touch with interesting people. In the League, I met elected officials and city planners, as well as community activist leaders. As a volunteer for the Mental Health Association I met mental health professionals, clients and community advocates and educators. I felt inspired and as if I were among kindred spirits. I eventually became a mental health professional myself.

Volunteering meant that I traveled to places I would not have seen if it had not been for my involvement. As a church altar guild member, I traveled to the diocesan convention, and as a Camp Fire Girls leader I traveled to camps in the woods. Volunteering will inevitably enrich one's perspective and life experiences. I gained confidence with each new challenge, and built upon all the previous knowledge gained through the work.

Volunteering earns annual recognition banquets, thank you's, smiles of gratitude, hugs, certificates and kudos. Volunteering for the first 15 years of my worklife, put me on the educational and professional path I eventually took. I am retired now, and I know that my life would have been very different had it not been for liking to be a volunteer. You ought to try it, if you haven't done it.

See "Behind the Links."

Blogs: My news and political blog is at South by Southwest. My general purpose/southwest focus blog is at Southwest Progressive. And Carol Gee - Online Universe is the all-in-one home page for my websites.

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