Focus: Purpose - Volunteering May Be Your Ultimate Purpose

Tools, tips and tricks to help you find your meaning by volunteering

Jul 30, 2021

We’ve all heard that volunteering is good for the soul, but there are so many other benefits to volunteering that it’s hard to categorize it into just one thing you may get out of it. Yes, it’s good for defining purpose and building esteem, but it’s also great for finding new friends and building new skills and fending off depression and even keeping yourself in shape if you choose something like Habitat for Humanity or cleaning up the parks in your area. It’s not for everyone, but for some people in retirement, it’s an indispensable part of their lifestyle. So, if you’d like to see if volunteering is for you, let’s talk about a few steps that might help you be more successful in your journey.

What’s your Why?

First, as we said, there are lots of benefits and lots of opportunities for you to find your thing with volunteering. So, the first step is to define your “why.” Do you want to find people your age to socialize with? Maybe you’re like me and you’re concerned that, in retirement, the only people you’ll interact with are your age. In that case, maybe you want to find an activity with a diversity of ages or other social aspects. Do you want to find something active, or do you prefer quiet or backroom activities? Maybe something aligned with your hobby or passion - like taking care of those adorable puppies at the SPCA or holding those adorable babies at the NICU - would make you smile? No answer is “better” than another. Just because you want to be altruistic in your volunteering doesn’t mean there shouldn’t be something in it for you. If you don’t want to care for homeless people, don’t care for homeless people just because there is a need. This is your life. These are your backroads that you get to take to find your meaning. At the end of the day, it should be as much for you as it is for the people you are helping - maybe more.

My friend, Gretchen, summed this up nicely. She volunteers at Hospice. Here’s what she has to say about her experience: “The hospice patient’s family and the hospice patient are so grateful for all the little things that we do for them. What they don’t realize is that they give us so much more than we give them. It’s such an honor and privilege that the patients and families invite us into their homes to share with them their final days.”

Gretchen’s Story

“In the first place, it was a tough decision to leave the workforce. I loved my job. And, after I got the house cleaned and did a little traveling, I realized it was difficult to just stop everything. I still needed some structure in my life, and I needed a purpose. A few days before I retired, my brother passed away unexpectedly, and about 14 months later, my sister-in-law passed away. Because I had a lot of spare time, I was able to go and stay with her and help take care of her in her last days. When her children decided that it was time to call in hospice, I was there and interviewed and registered her for hospice. The next day hospice showed up with a bed, meds, a social worker, a nurse - everything needed to make her comfortable. I was very impressed with the hospice program. I learned that in addition to all the medical assistance, hospice also provided a volunteer to come and assist with non-medical needs for the patient and family. A few weeks after she passed, I contacted the local hospice association in Sacramento and requested more information about volunteering for hospice. It was one of the best decisions I have ever made. I feel that my little effort helps the patient and family during a most difficult time. And for me, that big smile and Hello I’m greeted with when I arrive to visit with my patient/family, JUST MAKES MY DAY. “ Gretchen has shared stories with me about the last days she spends with some of her patients and their families. I can see the joy in her eyes as she talks about listening to the lives of the patients - who often just want to make sure their story is told - and interacting with those left here on Earth. Gretchen has always been a fantastic, giving soul, but I truly believe this activity gives back to that soul.

Start local

I recommend that you start local. You can really see the benefits reflected in your community if you have a local cause. There are lots of great opportunities, now, to volunteer virtually or give to a large national or international cause, and if that’s your passion, great! But seeing how your actions impact your community can be powerful. One of my favorite volunteering stories is about someone I have never met. His name is Mark Bohr and he was an amazing technologist and Senior Fellow at Intel, where I worked. Intel credits him with leading the transition to two major technological advances in the past decade: the switch to new materials known as “high-k metal gate” and “tri-gate” technologies. This is big stuff. He has met many dignitaries, including Barak Obama and he has an unusual gift of being able to explain this techy stuff to anybody and everybody so lots of doors were opened for him to travel to wonderful places, meet inspiring people and - you know - get tickets to the Super Bowl if that’s what he wanted. Pretty life-defining stuff. But then, he was faced with retirement. And he did something I found extraordinary. He went part time at Intel and began to focus on volunteering at a local hospital. He was taking orders from others and doing mundane tasks and he certainly wasn’t the expert at any of it. I wondered how he could find any purpose or reward in any of what he now found himself doing. At one of the last open forums he delivered at Intel, I found out. He said that, over time, engineering had become a team sport and he relished being part of a team that changed lives. He said he was volunteering at the hospital to be part of a team that changed the lives of the people he interacted with. He liked the fact that he could be part of immediate change for someone, rather than the societal change he had been leading. That’s the power of local volunteering.

Where to look

OK, so you want to give this a shot. What’s next? There are certainly agencies that can help. I have listed a few in the “further reading” section, below. You can also research your favorite charities online and reach out directly. There are almost always contacts that are ready to take your call. Another one of my friends that volunteers got her start through Encore.org. Her employer had a relationship with Encore that allowed her to find her perfect opportunity. She also happened to know someone with an affliction and she wanted to help find a cure. She found a cause and a way of life. She is very active in raising awareness and funds for the Cure JM Foundation. She used an agency, but she also researched on her own to help the agency help her. One more link I have to give you here is to a blog that I just happened upon, and it’s fantastic! This guy knows his passion and he knows how to suss out an opportunity and go for it! Don’t limit yourself. Find something that grabs you and see how you can help!

Boundaries!

One note of caution. These causes often have more work than they can support, and you are a resource. You want to be very clear on your boundaries going in, or you may bite off more than you want to chew. This also happened to a friend of mine. She ended up agreeing to a six month volunteer assignment that wasn’t well defined. She wasn’t super excited about the cause, but one of her friends was and she agreed to help out. It was six months of drudgery. She was roped into doing things she didn’t enjoy and there was always more work to do that they were more than happy to lump on her plate. She was working more for the charity than she had in her full time job! She was not happy. It’s OK to say no. In fact, it may very well be necessary. Know your boundaries and don’t go past them unless you are clear that it will give you meaning or pleasure to do so.

There are so many opportunities to find such enrichment! What’s your thing?

Actions to Build Confidence

Tiny: Write your “why.” What gap, or gaps, are you looking to fill with volunteering?

Bold: Research agencies or local opportunities online. Make a list of contacts and qualifications and narrow them down to a few that look like fun.

Audacious: Take you out to the ballgame! Or the local theater or concert hall or art museum. Find the volunteer contact at your favorite venue and tell them you’re available!

Next Week’s Focus: FUN!

You want it all and you want it FREE! Let’s explore ways for you to travel on someone else’s dime.

Thanks for reading! I’m always open to your feedback! Let’s make this community what you want it to be.

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