The Volunteer Trap
The nature of volunteerism will change rapidly in the twenty-first century.
Boomers will not be content to let the world they have so dramatically reshaped during the prior six decades just spin on its own without affecting it in their own ways. Their dynamic involvement will be felt until the last one shudders and dies (at which point their offspring will be souping things up). Volunteering in the mid-twentieth century generally included such duties as:
Rolling bandages in World War II
Serving juice and crackers to blood donors
Signing in voters at polls
Boxing care packages to send overseas
As women entered the work force in staggering numbers, their influence began to be felt within some socially responsible corporate cultures. Certain
Recognizing the limited time people have for hands-on charity work, nonprofits are structuring Done-in-a-Day volunteer opportunities. Groups organize a range of team projects such as cleaning up a park, painting a homeless shelter, or putting up a playground that can be completed in one intense workday.
In the twenty-first century new characteristics of volunteerism will emerge:
Community service work will be recognized for the serious work it is.
Complex, sophisticated work done by volunteers will require that they demonstrate matching competency.
Higher levels of training resources will be demanded.
High-level volunteer work will need to be integrated well with paid workers at nonprofits.
Volunteers will have to be protected from being exploited as free or cheap labor.
Some volunteers will need some compensation. Not all of the work will be free.
Creating your new life, post full-time paid work, requires the same diligence in planning that you have applied to every other major life event. No one but you knows the ideas you have swirling around in your head. It is a good idea to:
Sketch out different scenarios for where you might direct your time and talent on paper.
Ask for feedback on your plans from people whose opinion you respect.
Contact people — even people you have not yet met — within organizations of interest to you for an information-gathering meeting.
Try out different roles at a few places to see where you find the best fit.
Find organizations that offer training.
Keep an open mind.
Avoid idealizing the experience — be ready for normal frustrations as with any job.
If anything, you will need to be even more conscientious allocating your time in retirement than you did during full-time employment. You may have some inventive notions about what you want to pursue that will require a bit of risk-taking. Remember, you may be thinking of it as “free time” but once it is committed, it is no longer “free.”
Some retirees may have almost enough resources to make ends meet, but still need something else to close the gap. It could be access to a prescription drug plan, subsidized training or education, or a small stipend for gas and out-of-pocket expenses. It is possible to view yourself as a volunteer even when receiving small subsidies.
Maybe your plan doesn't involve a stark divergence from your prior career. You may have specific expertise that you feel compelled to offer in a new setting. After retiring as a nurse practitioner, for example, you might wish to offer your medical skills in a health clinic for the poor.
If, alternatively, you have been looking forward to this new time to develop new skills and enjoy a different environment to put your energies into, you will want to be deliberate about that, too. Now that your nursing days are wrapped up you may be interested in escalating a lifelong interest in photography. By taking more courses and upgrading your equipment, you could become a valuable asset to a nature conservancy by recording fauna and birds for their records and Web site. Remember that the keys to getting the most out of your volunteer life are to approach it with seriousness, open-mindedness, zest, and joy.
