Volunteering Evolving
This is an article about my experience of volunteering since retiring at LVH. I have noticed that you can volunteer to do many things in our community... Established things. You can also go way out there and create new volunteer jobs where none existed before. Most folks are grateful that you do so. Others see such as grandstanding for attention. All will never agree that what you volunteer for is necessary or even wanted. You will incur negative responses to whatever you do but you will also receive many thankyou’s . That being said ... Why volunteer at all?
Well, many moved here for the terrific climate and sceneries and thought it was just frosting on the cake that there were many social activities and services throughout the community. Management, the owner, the park does not provide our community with those things. Sometimes they help financially but for the most part community volunteers keep it all going.
Once a person enters the volunteer group they are usually excited about what they can bring to that job from their life experiences. However, over time, the job they are doing may start to become a burden rather than the fun that it first was. This is the hard spot. The spot where they should step down but a feeling of guilt keeps them hovering in the belief that no one will come forward and do the job. So they continue on not really liking what they are doing but feeling stuck with guilt for giving up. Eventually, they finally stand before us and say they no longer are going to do whatever job they have taken. A great relief comes over them and you see them move completely away from volunteering in the community. They may even stop coming to social events. It’s at this point that they say never again and move on with their lives.
This is not the way I would like to see this process happen. Would it not be better to tell new volunteers when they feel that they no longer are enjoying themselves to say so and ask for a replacement? Then rather than stepping down and distancing yourself from the community, tell everyone you will stay on as an advisor to your replacement. This way there is continuity and the old volunteer bows out gracefully and the new gets the benefit of past experience.
I am going to be shedding some of my volunteer jobs in our community simply because they are no longer fun for me and they have become a burden to me. Yet at the same time I am taking on new ones that are fascinating to me. It all comes down to how do you want to spend your time having fun or doing a job that is a burden?
Soon I will be posting those jobs that I no longer want to do along with a complete description of what it takes.. New volunteers will be asked for but not to just jump in.. I will show them how to do things and remain on as an advisor.
I am excited about the new ideas I am working on and as they develop I will bring them to your attention.. We’re retired... Its about fun now don’t you think?
