Why do you join a non-profit? Why feed the homeless? Why start a podcast?
If you’re a decent human being, you probably do something that is not important in the short run that does not impact your life in any way. Volunteering and committing to doing work for absolutely nothing is a hard sell, and maybe people in these organizations have a tough time convincing people the benefits of volunteering or getting involved.
Volunteering your time to assist in whatever you’re passionate about is not a short term gain, but it teaches you the skills to achieve things in the long run. The mindset of serving others is extremely valuable in terms of working in a group, or eventually, leading organizations.
Yet let’s talk about the short terms of volunteering, or the short term, non-monetary rewards you get when you volunteer.
Why would you volunteer?
I’ll do it if I get to meet new people
If you’ve moved to a new city, you might feel the creep of crippling loneliness and you don’t know what to do. I did when I moved to Waco, and I wanted to fix it when I moved to Phoenix. So I thought, I could meet new people much easier if I got involved in the local organizations.
When I moved to Phoenix, I clung to what I’m familiar with. I was very involved in cultural clubs and food clubs in college, so that is what I gravitated the most. The first organization I contacted when I moved was the Cactus section IFT, and a professional Asian organization.
Though the IFT section eventually ended up with me organizing the whole thing, the Asian group wasn’t my favorite.
I eventually hopped around and at one point, created my own meetup group for Asian Americans in Phoenix. However, the softest spot for me was at the end of my Phoenix tenure, an organization called Yee Toy Fong, full of these retired but passionate Chinese Americans who created marvelous events such as Chinese Week and the Chinese beauty pageant.
As I moved to Sacramento, I did the same thing. I contacted NCIFT and joined their events. The Plant Based and Clean Meat companies in the Bay Area are also starting to form a community which I am welcomed at.
I recently checked out the APICA event in Sacramento. This is an Asian government mixer, but I saw the event on facebook and they promised free sushi so I went. I asked to get involved.
The formula for meeting new people has been engrained in me, making the transition to a new town, not an anxiety, but an excitement.
I’ll do it if it improves my career
In general, a big reason why people will join a board or get into leadership positions is to increase their social status.
In college, there is more opportunity for leadership positions. You can sit on board on a cultural diversity club, or be captain of a sports team. Those all help with your resume, and they help you meet friends. The end goal of 4-6 years is also something where you might as well do it.
Yet it is uncommon that people will do leadership positions after college. They are a lot of work, and the reward to effort ratio is not very good.
Once you get a good entry-level job, why even bother to volunteer or contribute to people who will give you no money in return?
The value of a leadership position in a volunteering position is not in the title, but the skillset. You are working with people who are driven by passion alone. They are not experts in their respected volunteering roles. If they were, they’d be paid.
Basically, you are working with a bunch of motivated but unskilled and potentially unreliable new professionals.
So your skillset in being a leader will increase drastically as you fall into a volunteer leadership position.
By balancing the fact that you have people working who don’t need to get paid, or are not trained properly, that’s a challenge, but it’s a good challenge to prepare yourself for the future. Motivating people to do things for free is really tough, but it’s great practice.
I’ll do it if it makes me feel good
Whether you get a good feeling when you give your time to those less fortunate or you just enjoy talking to people, the most important aspect is to feel good in what you’re doing.
A big thing I want to bring up is that you are never obligated to stay in a volunteer opportunity you don’t like. Even if they give you a bogus board name, you have full authority to leave if you don’t like it. It pains me to see unhappy members in a volunteer organization as you have no incentive for being there, and it sucks to be there.
A lot of people will say that you are doing a disservice but I would argue that people will take advantage of you if you are unhappy at a volunteering organization. You are easily replaceable and if you weren’t, wouldn’t they do your best to make you happy?
Life is short, and there are already too many things in life that make people angry or upset. Volunteering should be a relaxing or exciting event. At times, it’s fine for it to be stressful, but the overall experience should be an achievement.
Everyone has a different perspective of value
Not everyone needs to be a leader, or volunteer their time.
Most people don’t.
But the rewards plant the seeds to create an unbreakable foundation.
For me, volunteering in all sorts of different things such as feeding the homeless, create Chinese events to help bring cultural awareness, getting involved in IFT, or starting a podcast, this is all for the long run. You never know how these experiences will overlap and help one another but from what I’ve noticed, the more I’ve been able to volunteer my time for good, that creates a powerful lattice that can create the foundation of excelling in your life.
