My hub likes to call me a serial volunteer, but simply put, I know it’s what I was meant to do and it makes me genuinely happy. Just don’t tell anyone.
Like a surgeon to a scalpel or a landscaper to a garden, a force draws me into this world of good will and great people. When you volunteer you gravitate to like-minded people and occasionally meet or hear about those who blow you away with their compassion and selflessness.
A friend of our family, Fr. Kevin Mogg, is a close friend of Moira Kelly. Moira is a gift to the world of volunteers with her tireless work with Children First Foundation. She is more famous for rescuing Trishna and Krishna from inevitable death as conjoined twins, but has been reaching out to poor, indigenous and marginalised communities since thirteen years of age.
I’ve done the odd shift at Ozanam House and worked on soup vans but couldn’t imagine the impact of being around such squalor in the third world. It takes a unique person like Moira. She doesn’t even think she is that special. Moira is someone I will never be, but I can aspire to be a worthwhile volunteer in a different capacity.
My vice presidency term at the kindergarten is over and I have started as team manager of my son’s cricket team. My son knows a lot about cricket and my knowledge is limited to that barefoot tippity game we play in the backyard. Rosters and emails aside, I love helping these young boys play a sport that they enjoy and help to make the process easier for them and their parents…with the odd bottle of champagne for the spectators.
I sat there in the Friday twilight (and yes we even have a Cullen on our team,)
and thought this is not volunteering, this is pleasure. It’s a joy to coordinate the team’s activities and help in any way I can, especially when the volunteer coach and scorer make you feel so welcome. Like minded people.
When I returned home I received a touching email:
“…I just wanted to say what a great job you did tonight – it was lovely to meet you. Let’s hope we have a lot more Friday afternoons like the one we had today.”
Right there is my payment and like the bank CEO’s rubbing their hands with glee at their bonus cheques, I get a rush from volunteering and being appreciated.
Sometimes you don’t even realize you are giving of your time and energy for free because you are enjoying the responses of those you are working with. As a social and fundraising coordinator at kindergarten, I could have just followed suit and penciled in chocolate drives, trivia nights and raffles. I knew I had to explore the parents’ social connection to the kinder. Kinder is an experience that can be unnerving for both child and parent. I felt it myself when I started.
All or nothing, “O todo o nada,” is a special saying my late grandfather Jacko and I shared. I gave it ‘my all’ in this social capacity. My main objective was to bring people together with nights for mums to let their hair down and opportunities to take part in fun activities. As a bonus we made over $35,000 in the three years I was involved. I met some solid friends who also volunteer and I admire them for getting on with the job without having to be as flamboyant as me.
I am also a firm believer in ‘new blood’ and fresh energy and ideas and left that post to fill other roles and allow other volunteers to get paid in the same rewarding spirit of gratitude. My husband can jokingly call me a serial volunteer, but it wouldn’t be possible if I didn’t have the wonderful support network I have. You wouldn’t find too many husbands that voluntarily clean the dishes when a meal’s been baked for a friend, stand-in for their partner when she can’t volunteer herself, or run the house for six weeks prior to a major event. Behind every serial volunteer is a ‘serialously’ great husband!
There are many books about volunteers on a far grander scale than my trivial roles. I have highlighted two that I have read. One is about human suffering and the other is about rescuing downtrodden animals in the third world:
Heart of Darfur by Lisa French Baker
Lisa, an Australian nurse, writes about her heartbreaking journey in war-torn Darfur and the dignity and determination of the people of Darfur. It’s not a story about happy endings but there are glimpses of hope.
Christine’s Ark by John Little
Christine founded Animal Liberation Australia and went on to run an animal shelter in Jaipur, India. This is her story.
A book I haven’t read but sounds good is also listed (below)
Teens with the Courage to Give: Young People Who Triumphed Over Tragedy and Volunteered to Make a Difference by Jackie Waldman
Retells the personal stories of thirty teens who overcame difficulty in their lives through the help of volunteers, or who changed their lives through the act of volunteering. It's apparently an inspiring read, told in the words of the teens.
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