By Lian Dolan
The volunteer season is here! There are opportunities galore at school. Or at any number of extracurricular activities that your child may be involved in—from cheer to football to dance. So, what’s your volunteer personality?
The Queen Bee
You are going to be uber-involved anyway, so you might as well be in charge. You even have your own monogrammed clipboard to prove it. You love putting those management consultant skills to work, even if it’s for streamlining the ticket sales process at the family fair. You know everybody’s name, skill set and cell phone number. Your golden rule: always send thank you notes.
The Worker Bee
You are reliable, easy to work with and always on time for your shift. You don’t mind set up, clean up or any other duties that involved getting wet, dirty, or covered in paste. You fill in where needed, but never, ever sign up to run anything. Your motto: do the work, then go home.
The Lone Ranger
You are willing to work tirelessly on behalf of the school or team, you just want to do it from your home computer. Alone. Even better if the position does not require attendance at committee meetings. Data entry, e-mail communication, endless hours updating scores and stats—that is idea of being involved. Your keyboard is king.
The Creative
You bring the zing to all the projects you touch. What’s that in your bag? It’s wired ribbon and a glue gun, of course. You turn a simple centerpiece into a statement and no decorative touch gets by you without bedazzling. You make the costumes, supervise the art projects and put-together the year-end scrapbooks. Your role model? Martha, of course.
The Camp Counselor
You can herd kids like a cowboy herds cattle. All those teen summers with a whistle in your mouth and zinc oxide on your nose have really paid off in adulthood. You are the go to girl for coaching, reffing, and running the relay races at the school picnic. On your mark, get set, go volunteer.
The Accountant
You never come out from behind the cashier’s table and that’s okay with you. You can count money, talk on the phone and ring up another sale simultaneously. While others shudder at the sight of the credit card machine, you have no fear. You’re the first one in with the change drawer and the last one out with the daily receipts. If cash is king, you are the true Queen.
What’s your volunteer personality? How do you put it to use in your volunteer activities?
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Lian Dolan is a mother, wife, sister, friend, daughter, writer, novelist, and talk show host. She is the creator of Chaos Chronicles, Satellite Sisters and the author of the novel: Helen of Pasadena. She can be found on Twitter and Facebook.
