"There's nothing stronger than the heart of a volunteer". Those words were uttered by James Doolittle hours before the Doolittle raid launched it's attack on Japan after the attack at Pearl Harbor.
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I don't mean to belittle volunteers with what I am about to write, but I've been both blessed and stung by being a volunteer.
For a little background, I feel tremendous satisfaction in giving my time to worthy causes. Especially since I don't have lot of spare change sitting around to give, I often will join special projects and initiatives that I think benefit the right people. I've volunteered for Veterans, Habitat for Humanity, Animal Shelters, Arts and Crafts Organizations, Orphanages, and the Boy Scouts of America.
Out of those listed above, the Boy Scouts of America is my "organization of choice". I grew up in a family of Eagle Scouts, earned Eagle Scout myself, then went on to be Assistant Scoutmaster, Committee Chair, Merit Badge Counselor, Scoutmaster, Order of The Arrow Chapter Adviser, and District Vice Chair of Operations. It is only natural for adults to volunteer in the Boy Scouts (or Girl Scouts, for that matter) when their kids are involved. They want to stay engaged.
Only I don't have any kids, and therein lies the problem. Like a lot of organizations, it works best when there is a robust support group to draw ideas from and divide the tasks among volunteers to make it happen. Events take coordination and planning to make sure all angles are covered. Yet it seems like most parents want to drop off their kids at the meeting and call it good. THIS IS NOT A BABYSITTING SERVICE.
Why should a person with no children be more involved in the programming than the parent? I'm a volunteer, this is not my job. I am not a teacher in a union hired by the local school district. If I were a parent, I wouldn't necessarily want a group of volunteers dictating where I need to be and what my kid will be doing on any given weekend, anyway. But that is what happens.
So that is why I consider it a double edged sword. I (and a lot of other volunteers) put a lot of sweat and tears into the program to benefit the kids. But when a new project or event comes up, it is the same people stepping up to volunteer their time and energy. This leads to burn-out, which leads to fewer volunteers, and then it leads to no program. Then who suffers? The kids, because the BSA is a fine program and teaches a lot of valuable life skills.
So this is my plea. If your kids are involved in a sport, or in a Scouting organization...learn more about what you can do to help. Offer to help...even if only once in awhile. You would be doing me and the other volunteers a great service.
