Volunteering – How it Changes Lives
We hear a great deal about parents who push their children into activities designed to increase their competitiveness in the effort to enter the best universities and colleges. While I see nothing wrong in studying hard and striving to be better, my sense is that sometimes parents lose sight of what it takes to create a well-rounded individual.
I question the notion that one can draft a foolproof plan for success in life, however one defines that goal. My experience has been that some of the best things in my life have resulted from not taking what some might consider to be the safe and sensible path.
In 1971 at age 21, I dropped out of university and signed on as a volunteer with an organization called Community Service Volunteers. The experience literally changed my life, a story I tell in my book A Hole Without Sides. Read Chapter 1.
Community Service Volunteers (CSV), a British organization that connects volunteers of all ages with a variety of opportunities to serve, is celebrating its 50th year. When I was a volunteer, the organization was not yet 10 years old. It has greatly expanded the range of its activities in the interim.
In 1971, CSV acted as a clearing house that connected volunteers with organizations. I spent time at two quite different facilities. The first was a halfway house for ex-prisoners in a small village in Rutland, now part of Leicestershire. The second was a closed unit for adolescents in Bristol.
Volunteers received the cost of travel from CSV, the organizations provided room and board. I believe there was also a small allowance from CSV. The minimalist structure of those early days encouraged volunteers to be self-reliant. You had to learn to deal with the situations that came up. As a volunteer, I received a comprehensive course in the university of life, not only from the residents in the locations where I volunteered, but also from the variety of staff and other volunteers I met. In a short space of time I gained a lot of experience in many aspects of human behavior. Until then I had led a somewhat narrow, restricted life. Volunteering opened a window and let in some much needed air.
Volunteers gain at least as much as the organizations and people they try to help. It can be very hard to measure any potential impact you might have as a result of your service. The changes in you as an individual are often easier to gauge, although it may take you some time to realize their full extent.
For those readers who are also parents, realize that I am not advocating that you have to go to the extreme of dropping out of school to be of service. That was just the way it played out for me. What I am suggesting is that including service in the education of a young person is a very valuable experience. So much of life these days seems to have taken on the form of a competition, a game, where the value of activities and goals assumed to be important is not necessarily examined or questioned. While community service is often included in the activities encouraged in high school, I believe that intent makes a difference. Doing something for its own sake matters.
I would make an argument for encouraging an interval of service between high school and college. I spent several years teaching at a university and found that many students were ill-prepared for the experience. Many had never been given the opportunity to experience independence of thought or action, or had the ability to make decisions for themselves. Six months or a year of volunteering, time spent in the university of life, might make a lot of difference in the personal growth of young people. Our fractured society needs more people with empathy for others. Volunteering is one way to encourage that.
And volunteering is not just for the young. Our society often undervalues the experience of older people. This is a huge mistake. Just as CSV’s range has greatly expanded, opportunities can be found for a diverse group of people, young and old, to be of service. In giving you also receive riches.
If you would like to support the valuable work of Community Service Volunteers learn how here. Many other fine organizations could also use your help. Seek out the ones in your area and support them.
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