What Do You Want to Do?

By Darcy Campion Devney
From The Volunteer's Survival Manual

What Do You Want to Do?

In her position as program director at a Volunteer Exchange, Joan Patterson has found that "Volunteering can be a great oppor­tunity to take risks-you would never get a paid job that would let you do some of the work you are given an opportunity to do as a volunteer." Take a chance; experiment with something new.

But you must be sure that whatever you pick sparks your inter­est. In Beyond Success (see Resources), the authors ask some pointed questions: "When you have the radio on in the kitchen, which news stories make you turn off the running water? When you're reading the newspaper, which articles make you talk to yourself? Ask your friends what topics you complain about most."

"Sometimes a nurse wants to do something to take advantage of her nursing skill; sometimes she wants to do something com­pletely different," explains Betty Baker, who donates her time to the Voluntary Action Center in Boston, Massachusetts.

If you're interested in donating your professional skills (even after retirement), perhaps your trade group organizes pro bono services. For example, many of the American Optometric As­sociation's members provide free eye examinations to uninsured low-income workers as part of the Vision USA program. And vet­erinarians throughout America donate their skills to the Friends of Animals' Breeding Control Program.

 

 You can learn or practice almost any skill with an eye to your future career plans. For example, if you want to help feed the

hungry, you can:

 

•  Drive a truck to pick up and deliver foodstuffs
  (profession: truck, bus, or cab driver)

• Persuade supermarkets and restaurants to donate food
  (profession: administrator, grants writer)

• Package foods, pack trucks
  (profession: bagger in grocery store, mover)

• Cook and serve meals
  (profession: caterer, server, food service worker)

• Fix broken appliances and trucks
  (profession: repairperson, mechanic)

• Write letters to elected politicians to change policies
  (profession: lobbyist, writer)

• Organize benefit ball and community meetings
  (profession: meeting manager, special events planner)

• Fold, stamp, and mail brochures and fund-raising letters
  (profession: secretary, clerk)

• Entertain during a meal in a cafeteria (profession: performer, emcee)

Where Do You Want to Do It?

Lelia Fykes-Ridley tried to decide, prior to retiring, how she would volunteer. "I didn't want to just sit home and do nothing. So I looked around at places I would enjoy. The zoo is wonderful in the summer, but not in the winter, so that's why I didn't volunteer there. I went to other museums, but they didn't have what I wanted." Fykes-Ridley settled on a volunteer position at Chicago's Museum of Science and Industry. "I've always enjoyed this museum. This is an interesting place; and it's rewarding when you see the little ones' eyes light up."

Go to your choice of volunteering and walk through it. Take a look, see what "feel" you get from being there.

 

The Volunteer's Survival Manual

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Excerpted from The Volunteer's Survival Manual by Darcy Campion Devney, © 1992, The Practical Press. pp 34-35.

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