- Have a ball. Just be sure you’ve earned it.
Faye Johnson, a native of South Africa, has traveled around the world as a volunteer. She interned with Human Rights Watch and currently works on foreign affairs issues for the U.S. government:
I never hire anyone who says, “I’ll come, but I am ONLY doing ____.” These people will take more time then they are worth to train because they refuse to jump in where they are needed and don’t take initiative. I will ask a potential volunteer how adamant they are about their stipulation—they potentially are just nervous, or feel like they don’t have the skills needed to be helpful. This can easily be remedied by asking some basic questions about various tasks. If the person still seems adamant about only completing one task, and it’s a multi-task project, I will look for someone else.
Natasha Sultan, a Hollywood resident who currently works for a major producer in Los Angeles:
I volunteer my soul to the devil every day. Does that count?
Tara Ebrahimi has volunteered her summers to work with Native American tribes. She has also perfected the craft of making root beer floats while working with the elderly:
The critical thing to remember is: YOU are there to help THEM. Don’t be fussy about what you are assigned to do; sometimes it might seem like you’re doing something trivial or inane, like stuffing envelopes, but every little thing helps and there are a million little tasks necessary to make an organization run.
Another thing to beware of is the “Mother Theresa” syndrome: a longing to help everyone. This becomes overwhelming and you can’t forget that overextending yourself in volunteering will leave a yucky taste in your mouth (and) cause you to smash the whole thing altogether. In my humble estimation, helping one person is a whole lot better than helping a lot of people just a little bit. Plus, you have the power to create a chain of volunteerism.
Kyle Smith, a volunteer since childhood and a former government employee, currently volunteers with his church on a weekly basis:
