If you follow my Twitter feed, you’ve probably noticed I mention my volunteer work from time to time. For the past 15 years, I’ve worked as a musical entertainer for several convalescent and senior daycare centers. Once a month, I pack up my guitar, head out, and play for an hour. Basically, it boils down to me playing guitar badly, singing well, telling a few stories, and cracking some bad jokes. The seniors enjoy my performance, and I come away feeling like my day is a whole lot brighter.
If you’ve missed my tweets, here’s a example:
Home from my regular #volunteer gig playing #guitar and #singing for the #seniors at the convalescent center. Happy to share a 🙂 there.
— Alex Taylor (@AlexTaylorBooks) May 2, 2015
Over the years, I’ve been a part of a number of volunteer projects. I briefly worked for the battered women’s shelter and our local rape crisis center. I’ve built and maintained web sites for non-profit organizations. I’ve taken in a few unwanted parrots, including a blind macaw and a cockatiel with a broken wing.
Most recently, I started working with the nice folks at Mickaboo Companion Bird Rescue. They are an organization based in Northern California that helps rescue, rehabilitate and re-home unwanted pet birds. I’ll be taking in my first foster parrot next week, and it should be an interesting experience. The one I’ll be fostering has a few behavioral challenges, so I’m glad I’ve attended avian behavior classes taught by Barbara Heidenriech. (Anyone with a problem parrot should check out her stuff — she’s awesome!)
Now there are plenty of good reasons why one should volunteer. In fact, the UC San Diego website has a list of ten reasons to chip in. Go ahead, pay them a visit. I’ll wait…
See? Lots of great stuff.
I wanted to talk today about why I volunteer. There are lots of altruistic reasons why I might be doing this. For example, I might be one of those great people who is focused on making the world a better place, or wanting to give back in some way. I might have some deep need to make a difference.
Honestly? That’s not me. While all of those things are great, they aren’t why I take in unwanted parrots or play my guitar for a room full of seniors.
The reason that I volunteer is that I get more out of it than I put in. When I play for the seniors, it’s usually in the late afternoon. Not only does it give me a chance to play my guitar and sing, which is fun, it also gives me a valid excuse to quit work an hour and a half early. Clients don’t usually complain when you tell them, “I’m going to leave early this afternoon, so I can volunteer.”
Ditching off work isn’t the only reason why I do what I do. When I make a senior smile or help a bird in need, it makes me feel good. When I see a fellow being’s eyes light up because of something I’ve done, I am happier for it. When a caregiver comes up to me after a performance to say, “thank you,” I know that I’ve created something special.
Volunteering also gives me a break from my usual routine. It’s really easy to get caught up in the crazy-making aspects of every day life. Often, I find myself “too busy” for things I enjoy because of work, bills, chores or what have you. Scheduling time to do something different gives me a break. It also gives me a chance to get out of my office, breathe some fresh air, and see some new people and new situations. Whatever might be bothering me on a particular day gets shoved out of place while I focus on helping someone else for a while.
And you know what? I’m a lot happier for it.
I guess if I was going to boil this all down to one thing, I’d say that volunteering makes a huge difference. However, I’m not looking at it from the perspective of what it does for other people. Instead, I look at it for what it does for me. Maybe that might sound a little selfish, but I know that when I’ve done something for someone else, the burdens in my life seem a lot lighter.
I hope you’ll think about giving volunteering a try one day, if you haven’t already.