Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning.
Speaker 1: This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's
Speaker 1: tip is to be proactive in choosing your volunteer roles.
Speaker 1: Don't find yourself volunteer to do something you are not
Speaker 1: excited about and then find yourself looking for an opportunity
Speaker 1: to quit. Instead, reflect on how you want to contribute,
Speaker 1: then get intentional about finding a volunteer role that is
Speaker 1: a great fit for you. I know of a woman
Speaker 1: who has capable, energetic, and sociable, and so she often
Speaker 1: gets asked to serve on boards and committees. She has
Speaker 1: great ideas, people like her, isn't to the perfect candidate,
Speaker 1: well not quite, as she puts it, I don't like meetings,
Speaker 1: so she doesn't agree to volunteer in ways that involve
Speaker 1: a lot of meetings. Well, I am sure some folks
Speaker 1: would disagree with that philosophy. I get it, and I
Speaker 1: think it is good to know yourself. A lot of
Speaker 1: knowledge workers find themselves on nonprofit boards and committees, and
Speaker 1: for many people that is a great way to contribute
Speaker 1: their expertise. But if you too run meetings all day,
Speaker 1: then perhaps you won't be quite as enthusiastic a volunteer
Speaker 1: if you are dreading yet another meeting, so perhaps you
Speaker 1: can volunteer in a different way that's more sustainable. As
Speaker 1: I see it, volunteering can be a great way to
Speaker 1: diversify your life. If you work in it for an
Speaker 1: insurance company but love arranging flowers, why not volunteer at
Speaker 1: your church to repurpose the flowers from Sunday services to
Speaker 1: deliver to people going through a hard time. If you
Speaker 1: work remotely at a desk all day long, you might
Speaker 1: enjoy the interaction of being an usher at a local theater,
Speaker 1: or the physicality of maintaining hiking trails for a state park.
Speaker 1: Or maybe you teach preschool but are hoping to pivot
Speaker 1: to graphic design, you could volunteer to design promotional materials
Speaker 1: for a new nonprofit. This will add some variety to
Speaker 1: your day and hone your new skills while helping an
Speaker 1: organization you care about. I think of volunteering as somewhat
Speaker 1: like electives for high schoolers. We should all have some
Speaker 1: electives in our schedules, but choosing electives is an opportunity
Speaker 1: to try different things and tap into different skills than
Speaker 1: you use the rest of the day. I think a
Speaker 1: lot of us wind up in volunteer roles because there's
Speaker 1: a need and we're there. There's nothing wrong with that.
Speaker 1: I volunteer in my kids' schools when they need me
Speaker 1: or with their activities. But if you take the elective approach,
Speaker 1: you might find a way to proactively add some more
Speaker 1: interest to your life while also doing good. So think
Speaker 1: about what you find interesting that's a little different from
Speaker 1: your day job. Many of us lack the opportunity to
Speaker 1: work with our hands. Or maybe you enjoy people but
Speaker 1: work remotely. Or you're more introverted and work with people
Speaker 1: all day. You might need something more silent. Maybe you
Speaker 1: love animals but can't commit to actually taking care of
Speaker 1: one as a member of the family right now. Maybe
Speaker 1: you love music and used to perform, but now work
Speaker 1: in something decidedly non musical. Maybe you enjoy the company
Speaker 1: of children but mostly work with adults. There are all
Speaker 1: sorts of interests that maybe passions that aren't our current
Speaker 1: professional realities. Once you have figured out what interests you
Speaker 1: and what skills you'd like to put to use, start
Speaker 1: looking around for organizations in your community. Ask around with
Speaker 1: your neighbors, colleagues or other parents at your kids' schools.
Speaker 1: If you're a member of a house of worship, look
Speaker 1: through their offerings and try different things. A one off
Speaker 1: project might be just the thing to get you started.
Speaker 1: Sometimes there are flyers at the local library, or if
Speaker 1: you live near a university, there might be organizations and
Speaker 1: projects publicized there. As you're choosing your volunteer opportunities, also
Speaker 1: think about what will make it stick. For instance, would
Speaker 1: you like to be able to volunteer with your kids,
Speaker 1: or maybe you are looking to make friends. You might
Speaker 1: be best off with something that allows you to work
Speaker 1: alongside the same people each week, like doing a shift
Speaker 1: at a soup kitchen or serving on a gala committee
Speaker 1: for a museum. If you want to be outdoors or
Speaker 1: out in the community, this is going to suggest different
Speaker 1: things then if you are more of a climate controlled
Speaker 1: kind of person. Now I realize that maybe the sound
Speaker 1: a little wrong to be thinking of volunteering as being
Speaker 1: an elective in one's life where interests in personal desires matter.
Speaker 1: I mean, shouldn't we just help wherever the need is greatest?
Speaker 1: But the truth is that the need is infinite. People
Speaker 1: are more likely to stick with things and bring their
Speaker 1: best selves to tasks when they enjoy what they are doing.
Speaker 1: I do a lot of writing, so in general I
Speaker 1: don't seek out things that involve writing in a volunteer capacity.
Speaker 1: I have done it when asked, but I don't really
Speaker 1: seek it out and look to do more of it.
Speaker 1: Singing and being outdoors and seeing spaces get more orderly.
Speaker 1: On the other hand, while those things are a bit different,
Speaker 1: When you are proactive about your volunteer roles, you can
Speaker 1: seek those out and then decline those for which you
Speaker 1: are not a good fit. Then your volunteering can help
Speaker 1: your community and be fulfilling for you too. In the meantime,
Speaker 1: this is Laura. Thanks for listening, and here's to making
Speaker 1: the most of our time. Thanks for listening to Before Breakfast.
Speaker 1: If you've got questions, ideas, or feedback, you can reach
Speaker 1: me at Laura at Laura vandercam dot com. Before Breakfast
Speaker 1: is a production of iHeartMedia. For more podcasts from iHeartMedia,
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