The Importance of Community Engagement in Volunteer Work
People often argue that good service encompasses any form of charity work that provides benefits to others; however, the way in which service is provided can have either positive or negative effects on the individual that is receiving the service. At times, charity work can lead to uneven power dynamics that result in the individual providing service feeling a sense of pity for those that they are working for or with (Boswell & Kail). I believe that one way in which good service can be accomplished is by building relationships with the individuals that you are serving. In doing so, charity work becomes an egalitarian act rather than merely a societal obligation. Building relations allows those receiving service to feel like true members of a larger community, taking away any sense of stigma or alienation. By promoting equality through the formation of relationships, the basic transaction of giving and receiving transforms into a relationship dynamic characterized by mutual respect and empathy.
Many people throughout the world face a variety of issues for a multitude of reasons. These challenges can result from natural disasters, diseases, mental health disorders, poverty, and much more (Hay). When issues of this sort arise, they often affect an individual’s overall sense of stability in life that typically allows them to remain content, healthy, safe, etc. These issues can evolve into more issues that range from medical problems to homelessness. Volunteering, also known as charity work, is the act of participating in some form of unpaid labor in an attempt to benefit organizations, communities, and societies. Volunteering can be both formal and informal, meaning that it can be done independently or through an organization (NCVO).
Volunteering has multiple benefits for both the individual providing the service and the individual receiving the service. When volunteering, the community receives positive benefits that include engagement with more fortunate members of the greater community as well as assistance with financial, physical, emotional, and mental needs. What many people do not realize prior to participating in volunteer work are the immense amount of benefits that it also provides them. Through volunteering, the individuals providing service also have the opportunity to develop new friendships, reduce stress, learn new skills, experience positive mental health benefits, such as combating depression, and more (Segal & Robinson).
There are a multitude of incentives that push people to become involved in charity work, however, these motivational factors are not always rooted in altruistic values and principles. For example, many high schools implement a requirement for students to reach a certain number of community service hours in order for them to receive their high school diploma and graduate. Although the high school community service mandate may allow for “mental growth, such as consideration and sense of responsibility,” students often put a strain on volunteer projects through their “apathetic attitude[s]” and their lack of interest in the work that they are participating in (Taono). Therefore, students will not put forth as much effort into forming social connections and proceed to provide service in a mindless manner. This lack of engagement and attention as well as the low motivation towards forming relationships often causes the individuals receiving the service to feel stigmatized or marginalized. This is one of many examples of negative service work resulting from a lack of interest and involvement.
I argue that there are multiple ‘types’ of charity work. The ‘type’ of charity work is dependent on the mindset that an individual adopts while volunteering. I believe that ‘good’ charity work can only be accomplished by building relationships with members of the marginalized communities that you are supporting. In doing so, volunteers are able to build a sense of empathy which then lessens the systematic power dynamics that have arisen from stereotyping (Chung et al.).
Traditional charity work does not stress the importance of supporters forming interpersonal relationships with the ‘beneficiaries’. This model regards the individuals that are receiving the service as the only party that is benefiting during the act of volunteering. Joe Jenkins, the director of fundraising and supporter engagement at the Children’s society, discusses how supporters must begin to focus on the social sector of volunteer work: he stresses the importance of building connections in an attempt to empower individuals, fostering a sense of belonging.
The traditional charity model is typically utilized by older generations; the traditional charity model views the beneficiary party as the “victim of a problem”. Jenkins argues that “new[er] generations are much more involved” with the individuals that they are serving and the work that they are doing (Radojev). Older generations have viewed and continue to view charity work as a ‘duty’ to society rather than a personal choice and an opportunity to engage with diverse communities and expand their general knowledge. When viewing the responsibility of supporting less fortunate individuals as something you owe rather than something you choose, it is challenging to make the beneficiary party feel as though they are equals. This dynamic results in a societal hierarchy in which the beneficiary party is placed in a lower subsequent level than the supporting party.
Throughout my experience volunteering, I have participated in both traditional charity work and connection-based charity work. I would often volunteer with fundraisers, mindlessly organizing activities and raising money with little in mind surrounding the people that the funds would be supporting. Instead of engaging with the members of the community that I was supporting, I was spending time with and building relationships with the individuals who were helping raise the money for the fundraiser. The organization provided me with a brief summary of the individuals of whom I was helping, why I was helping them, and how I was helping them/. The organization acted as an intermediate party between the fundraisers and the individuals who were receiving the funding. The organization was responsible for collecting, investing, and distributing the money to a specific group of people. In this case, I was raising money for a group of children whose parents were preoccupied with a child suffering in the hospital and could not take care of the siblings or afford for anyone to take care of them. This money went towards sending the siblings of sick children to a camp, however, I was never able to meet any of these children or their families. In this experience, I felt a sense of disconnection between myself and the party that I was supporting. Therefore, the lack of direct support and involvement with the beneficiary party was dehumanizing. I noticed that I was beginning to see the beneficiary party as a ‘thing’ rather than a collection of individuals.
When partaking in another volunteer opportunity, I was able to be directly involved with the individuals that I was supporting. I volunteered for a tutoring organization that focused on helping children living in poverty who had recently immigrated to Canada. Many of these children did not speak English and were very unfamiliar with the country. I was paired with the same few children weekly which allowed me to build deep and meaningful connections with each one of them. Through this experience, I was able to better understand each child's specific learning styles and cater the way that I taught towards each individual. In doing so, we were able to make personal connections and comparisons between our lives, which made them feel comfortable and valued in their new environment. The more I learned about these children, the more empathy I felt for them and their challenging situations, allowing me to become more committed and involved in my volunteering. This was a much more valuable experience than volunteering for a fundraiser because I was able to see from a new perspective and we were able to experience mutual benefits.
Therefore, community engagement is a key part of any community service project as it promotes relationships which enables collaboration and mutual understanding. When participating in impersonal charity work, you leave individuals in the beneficiary community feeling isolated through constant stigmatization. Engaging with community members in the process of volunteering avoids the dehumanizing aspect of traditional charity work, which views those providing services as ‘superior’ to those receiving the services (Radojev).
