Volunteering

"They" say, particularly to young people trying to enter the workforce, that volunteering is a good "in." Maybe. Certainly, paid and unpaid student assistants acquire job skills and connections that frequently result in employment. I am dubious, however, about the indentured servitude that seems to haunt the non-profit sector.

I've never been a rabid do-gooder, as my Dad likes to refer to them. Working at the American Red Cross, as a paid employee, cemented for me an aversion to that. I honor the Red Cross for all the good that it does but a couple of experiences soured me to getting overly involved in non-profit work.

First, I came to conclude that members of the senior (paid) management couldn't make it in the real world. Acknowledging that my observational data set is limited, I'm sticking to that. The ones with whom I've had experience, both inside and outside of the Red Cross, are way too wishy-washy and afraid of their shadows. And sycophants to the board. True, a board of directors is a governing agency; however, in non-profits, at least, that is primarily a fiduciary responsibility.

The board members themselves, it seems to me, are quite puffed up with their own self-importance. With some good reason, I suppose. Money, or connections to money, are why they are on the board. There's a wannabe factor going on here, too. Non-profits are sharky political arenas. Without the kind of watchdog oversight of a corporation or government and, frankly, without the capitalistic imperative, ego and power-over prevail.

I can say that. I've served on boards of non-profits. Not on big mother non-profits like the Red Cross or Sierra Club, mind you. I saw for myself what one's inflated view of oneself can do. I fear that I was obnoxious. On one board, I was the designated 800-pound gorilla sent in when another non-profit got anywhere near our territory. On another, I was a, "My way or the highway," kind of gal. I was at my best when I relaxed and marveled not at what the non-profit stood for but for what it actually did, and did well.

What put all of this into my head this fine Monday morning? I just signed up with AARP to help kids learn how to read. Every day, I'm grateful for having learned how to read. I learn so much about the world around me and reading keeps me entertained when I'm somewhere waiting for service. Nothing like a medical system's privacy policy to keep one's attention, you know.

I also read to write. I know of no better way to learn about writing than reading. Books, certainly, although I don't read as many of those as I used to. I'm better and keeping up with The New Yorker magazine. Best. Writing. Ever. I read it cover to cover, taking care not to skip ahead to the next cartoon. I read articles about subject matter that is of no interest to me because the writing is that good.

I also volunteer as a Writer/Coach, working with high school kids. It is very satisfying. I haven't been at that for very long so have no profound conclusions to put forth. What has struck me so far is how articulate and thoughtful the young people are, and how tentative they are about simply putting down on paper the thoughts that so glibly slide out of their lips.

Some think it odd that I so enjoy working with kids. When I began being a mentor in an elementary school near our office, one of my coworkers guffawed at the very idea. "Carol? Working with KIDS?" Here this: we all must reach back to offer whatever we have to build up those younger (or less fortunate) than us. However that best fits for us.