Skills-Based Volunteering Shifted My Perspectives On Work
Some of the most challenging work I’ve done has been as a volunteer. Not only did I not get paid for the work (of course I didn’t, I was a volunteer), the fact was that I paid the organization to do the work (through the pretty much expected yearly donation)… Weird, right?
I grew up seeing work as something you did until you could retire. Work was something you maybe dreaded a bit come Monday. On Fridays you were gitty with anticipation for the weekend ahead. But every week or two you got a pay check and that made it worth it. That was work.
Even as I got older and started to enjoy many aspects of what I could now call my career, I still saw what I got paid to do as work. Every job I got I wished could be my last. I imagined what I would do if I didn’t have to work.
I grew up middle class with both times of abundance (dad sold some stock and bought a nice car and put in a pool!) and times of scarcity (dad is still unemployed and I’m eating a lot of rice and beans). One thing was for sure… from my first days on my own I was anxious about money. I wandered around the country a bit (every move expensive), had intermittent salaried and hourly jobs (didn’t know what I wanted to be when I grew up), and often had to post-date checks to my boyfriend in order to pay my bills. Not having enough money stressed me out! So as I got older, settled down in one place, focused on my career, and started making real money, I made sure to always live well below my means.
Financial stress can happen at any level in the socio-economic ladder. I’ve come to believe through experience, observation, and data that money doesn’t buy happiness. Enough money buys stability and security (so important) and this then acts as a solid foundation for what truly buys happiness — meaningful human connection and love — starting first with self love. Think of a spectrum with money on one side and love on the other… I think I’m currently somewhere here:
Even though years back I was slowly moving along this spectrum from left to right (after having already moved from right to left), I was still staying very focused on my career, moving up, making more, and saving more. Still thinking about retirement.
At the same time, I started to volunteer more. And my volunteering was shifting from directly working with students or doing hands on environmental work, to serving on boards. Eventually I became chair of the board of a fairly large school. This role, which I still hold, has been extremely challenging. I hold a senior role at work leading a large team and reporting directly to the CEO, but my job as board chair is in many ways harder. The stakes are higher (470 children!) and the work more challenging (1000+ parents, enough said). Weird, right? And while I don’t spend as much time at that job as the one I get paid to do, I very much feel as motivated to do the work, learn all that I need to, and overcome the challenges in front of me. And I don’t get paid a penny to do it! Remember, I pay them for the luxury of volunteering my time doing challenging work!?!
At the same time as I was focusing on my career and doing more volunteering, I was also becoming more mindful. This has afforded me the opportunity to become more aware of just about everything. Because I tend to move more slowly (which is still kind of fast!) through my day and with more awareness and purpose, I can catch myself reacting to my own actions and to the things happening around me. It was precisely through this awareness that it started to dawn on me that my perspectives on work were shifting in significant ways. It started to hit me that I actually enjoy (maybe that’s the word) challenging work. That the act of learning, growing, and stretching was immensely gratifying as was making a meaningful, positive impact on the lives of others through work. And as this shifted so too did my thoughts around work in the present and work in the future.
So here is the kicker… I want to work as long as I can! I’m no longer in a race to retirement, where it’s the earlier the better, but instead in a life-long marathon of growth and meaning. And with this ever deepening realization, I increasingly move through my life and the challenges it hands me with ease, welcoming each challenge as an opportunity to do just what I hope to do — grow as a person and make an impact! Its been a revelation and, as I consider my future, absolutely liberating.
Are you ready to think completely differently about work? Curious about skills-based volunteering and how to get started?
Skills-based volonteering is when you volunteer your time with a nonprofit organization doing something you are skilled at — something that you would normally get paid to do. It could be a small project — say you are a graphic designer and you design a logo for your favorite nonprofit — or a large commitment, like serving on or chairing a board and everything in between!
I started my skills-based volunteering journey with a time-boxed commitment of technical help. I met with an individual from the organization I was supporting — First Graduate — once a month for 90 minutes and she would come with a list of things she wanted help with and we got it done! I also volunteered with the students and got to know and love the program. A few years later they asked me to join the board and I served on the board for a three year term. I also happen to work at Salesforce and we provide a lot of pro bono (a specific kind of skills-based volunteering) opportunities for employees to utilize their professional skills to make an impact.
But if you don’t work at an organization that has such resources there are tools out their for you! Catchafire is a great resource for skills-based opportunities. Their mission is to “provide talented individuals with meaningful pro bono experiences in order to build capacity for social good organizations.” Another great organization is Taproot, they have an abundance of pro bono opportunities available. And if you are interested in board service, the Board Match is a great place to start.
Know about other great resources? Or have a great skills-based volunteering story? Share in the comments!
Thoughts are my own.
