1. Because they are nice.
2. Because they care about people.
3. So that they can tell people about how nice they are and how they care about people. They can also tell themselves this.
4. So they can be published on lists.
5. So they don't have to pay for a ticket/go to jail.
6. So they can achieve notable positions in their community.
4. So they can be published on lists.
5. So they don't have to pay for a ticket/go to jail.
6. So they can achieve notable positions in their community.
7. To impress someone.
I'm all for charity, and for people volunteering and giving service and all that junk. But there are people in the world who are quite proud of themselves and the little ways they give. Or, in the absence of actual giving, they are quite proud of the way they talk about how they intend to give. Because all starts with talking, right? Lots and lots of talking. And if said intended future service involves The Children then that makes the speaker practically an angel. Because only the innocent truly deserve our help.
I'm all for charity, and for people volunteering and giving service and all that junk. But there are people in the world who are quite proud of themselves and the little ways they give. Or, in the absence of actual giving, they are quite proud of the way they talk about how they intend to give. Because all starts with talking, right? Lots and lots of talking. And if said intended future service involves The Children then that makes the speaker practically an angel. Because only the innocent truly deserve our help.
You know what makes me cranky? Besides the absence of chocolate in my house right now, that is. You'll never guess this. What makes me cranky is when people discuss potential subjects of service and essentially categorize groups of people as deserving or undeserving of help and love, based on no actual facts, but rather on personal biases and assumptions. Because heaven help us if we take the time to try to understand an issue adversely affecting people and have a little compassion for them.
I was recently delighted (and by delighted I mean severely aggravated) to hear a woman espouse her opinion that families who were homeless due to disaster, and therefore through no fault of their own, really need our help. It was her new mission to help support them in whatever way she could. She was quite proud of herself for this statement. She was feeling quite angelic. I was feeling like squishing her. On the surface, her comment was great. These people she was discussing ARE probably really deserving of a little love and support. Yeah for charity! But let's examine the qualifier in her statement. Through no fault of their own. Um, what exactly are you saying, there, Angel dear? Are you saying that Other Homeless People are NOT deserving of your charity, because they all CHOSE to be homeless? I'm sure, Angel, that you were not consciously trying to relay that message. However, it's clear from your statement (and a few other lovely follow-up statements about dirty scary people and addicts) what you think about homeless people.
Everyone is at a different place in life on their path to learning and understanding about the world around them. I totally get that. I get that while some people would be uncomfortable working with homeless people, other people would rather do that than work with a group of children. Everyone' s service of choice is different. There are lots of different ways we can make an impact in this world, and we all have different talents and preferences that lead us to give service in different ways. That's fabulous. Yeah for diversity! What I take issue with is people who insist on staying in their little bubbles and not educating themselves and broadening their minds when opportunity arise. I take issue with people passing judgement on other groups of people without taking the time to actually consider the cards life has dealt said group. Serving people does not make you better than them. If you're doing it right, you will most likely learn something in the act. If you're doing it wrong, you most likely brag about it later. I'm just saying.
2 comments:
Feeling a trifle judged here. I didn't realize that once you volunteer your motivation and innermost thoughts on the subject are opened wide to anyone who gets paid to work day to day with the group you are serving. That if I make any comment it will be all I can possibly think or feel on the subject and I will be judged as misguided and selfish. Is it any wonder that sometimes there just aren't enough volunteers?
There is something especially horrifying about thousands and thousands of people becoming homeless instantly through an event that kills their families and friends, destroys all the homes/shelters, breaks down the infrastructure of their country, contaminates their food AND leaves a prolonged threat of disaster and disease weeks and even months afterward. Don't write off this pain as the same thing your ladies are going through and not worthy of compassion. It quite simply is not the same.
And, if you must judge, potential volunteers with homes should be judged individually just as you demand homeless people are judged. There's a world of information you miss because you are compelled to judge volunteers and list them in ready made groups (1-7) based on what they say or do in the moments they're in your presence. Just like you see this woman as misjudging the homeless you are quite likely misjudging her and by extension the rest of us. I'm just saying.
In regards to motivations for volunteering, these are all true and valid reasons people list for volunteering. There are articles and trainings on the things that motivate people to volunteer. Wanting to see their name (or company) published, or other such motivations, are not necessarily bad. What I do take exception with is people who think the people they are serving are LESS than them. People deserve to be treated with respect and compassion. The woman I referenced (who is not my volunteer, btw) stated clearly that she thought less of many homeless people. That's not okay with me. She literally dismissed my insight about ways we can ALSO serve in our community (in addition to thinking of groups like the families she had read about) in a discussion that was meant to be about charity in general, not her pet project.
I personally volunteer, so in discussing volunteers, I don't see myself as solely wearing the hat of the paid staff. And I don't think that my paycheck should negate my passion for serving the people that I serve and seeing them treated respectfully by those who serve in my program.
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