By Myrdin Thompson
I fully intended to write this blog this morning after I went to the gym...but I ended up volunteering instead. Volunteering, for me, is often like breathing. I often find myself pitching in without realizing that I have...or that I intended to in the first place. I have been a volunteer in a variety of organizations for a long number of years and here are a few things I've learned.
Volunteering looks different to different people. Some people are comfortable digging in the dirt and planting the garden. Some people are comfortable taking the garden's bounty and preparing the meal. And others still are happy to be the one's planning when and where that meal will be served.
Some volunteers are happy volunteering on a regular basis, the "every Wednesday worker" and others are happy volunteering at one event "Fall Festival Friend." Both need acknowledgment and support for their efforts.
Not every volunteer is you. So no matter how much you want others to be you to "get how important X project is" you can only control you.
So do YOUR best, give YOUR 100% so at the end of the day YOU know you made a difference. Lead by example, not by words. You can't force someone to "do the right thing" you can only do your part and know that it was your best.
So, a tale of two volunteers...which are really one in the same.
There are days when volunteering is hard, stinky, dirty, messy, "no thanks in sight and no bottle of water either" moments. There are days when you get to dress in your heels and pearls and "smile and wave."
It doesn't matter which volunteer you are, or what project you work on. Whether it is bagging clothes for a child, shelving books in the school library, stuffing envelopes with Reflections art information, working on a newsletter, writing a blog, planning a festival, a program, or an awards banquet, attending a workshop so you can share information, presenting a workshop so you can share information...it ALL is important. It all matters.
So now that school has started...don't wait for the PTA to invite you to a project, or your child's teacher to ask you help put name tags on yarn. Offer your help. Offer your talent, your skill, your excitement, your energy, your enthusiasm. Offer to run the volunteer program (and I've mentioned before that VolunteerSpot has great resources) if there isn't one or if one needs to be kick-started. The point is: Do something. Because something for a child is better than nothing at all.
"I shall pass through this world but once. Any good therefore that I can do or any kindness that I can show to any human being, let me do it now. Let me not defer or neglect it, for I shall not pass this way again." - Mahatma Gandhi
___________________________________________________________________________
Myrdin Thompson has been a Louisville public school parent, volunteer & advocate since 2002. She is currently the Kentucky PTA Reflections Commissioner, the 15th District PTA (Jefferson Co.) 4th VP-Communications/CCSSI Project Lead, and her son's middle school PTSA President. She was recognized by the White House as a "Champion of Change" in April 2011; is the Arts Advocate Mentor for Mom Congress; and was the Kentucky Delegate for Parenting Magazine's 2010 Mom Congress. She is dedicated to building support for and enhancing the quality of education in the Jefferson County Public Schools for all children in the district.
Read more by Myrdin on Roots & Wings and follow her on Twitter: @PTAPeep
