Reflection 1
Why do you give?
Do you give...
To be rewarded for your good deeds?
To add to your resumé?
To be recognized?
Or, do you give...
To satisfy and be well
You give to grow
To see a tangible difference
You give to impact
To respond to a cry for help
You give to help others
To make friends and be on a team
You give to interact
To spread your love and passion
You give to empower others
To use your strengths for good
You give to use your skills
While considering what residents of my town would look for in a volunteer experience, I asked why do people volunteer? What are people looking for? How selfless are their efforts? And how selfish? I began to think of less practical details and more of the underlying motivations. And on this train, I stumbled upon a distinction between reasons for volunteering—some reasons value the cause and the experience while other reasons are more superficial. I questioned that if you are taking the “right” actions, does the reason behind it matter?
Ultimately, I believe that to get the most out of volunteering it is important to prioritize the cause and experience and have that motivate you instead of any selfish motives. To be an effective volunteer, you need to feel passionate about what you're doing! I discovered this through my own experiences as well as surveying volunteers. For The Volunteer Hub @ TCF, I think the motives of a volunteer will be critical because it will determine their engagement, effort, availability, etc.