Why Do People Volunteer?

Having volunteered with a variety of organizations and causes for the past 30 years (yikes!), I feel confident in helping others learn why some volunteer and others do not. Helping others usually is the prevalent theme during the year-end holiday season. What about the remaining year, though? There are ample opportunities to volunteer that help a multitude of others. So, why do people volunteer? There seems to be a variety of reasons:

Sometimes people volunteer because they feel something is lacking in their life. They feel that there has to be more to life than “me, me”. This is usually the result of a life changing experience – such as the death of a close one. A good volunteer becomes involved simply because they want to help others. They do not want, nor expect, anything in return. The only thing they may want is a simple “thank you”.

Sometimes people volunteer because they use their live experiences to help ease others afflictions. Life experiences make for great teaching tools. The volunteer wants to make someone else's life easier after having lived through it themselves. The cancer survivor making speeches a cancer support group is a great example of this.

Sometimes people volunteer because they were told it looks good on a resume. Too many times, I heard in college how important volunteering was on a resume. It gives the impression of caring, I was told. This is not a good reason. It, unfortunately, does happen. Volunteering must come from the heart and a sincere desire to help.

People volunteer simply because they are compassionate and put themselves into “other's shoes”. This is the makings of a true volunteer. Compassion and caring are essential for good volunteering.