Gratitude for that tremendous heart for volunteering

In my time in the emergency services and in the church and parachurch organisations, I’ve seen countless examples of volunteering that have blown me away.  People who gave consistently over the decades, and those who gave tirelessly for an extended season of a few years, and those who gave exceptionally and bravely for days or weeks on end, especially without thought of getting anything back.

That’s the heart behind a lot of volunteering where volunteers provide services professionally deserving of being paid if only society could afford to pay.

But the point is, the heart that gives for the love of serving a community, of connecting people with services, for making society more cohesive—just because they can—is the heart that helps a person grow because they see others overcome.  And there is great life and hope in seeing others helped and supported to overcome.

The best volunteers I’ve seen include stories of two particular women that stand out in my memory; both of whom gave their time, their money, their wisdom, their expertise, everything they had to offer, to serve their communities.

What these two women gave was nothing short of inspiring, and oftentimes I’d think, “What more can they give... they’ve already outgiven everything I thought could be offered.”

I’ve watched volunteers give alongside those like me who are paid, and they’ve served as if there were no difference between us—and truly with the work they do there is no difference.  And pleasingly, the culture I’ve seen in emergency services, church and parachurch treats volunteers as just as professional as the paid workers, commensurate with the skills and experience they possess.  As basically the volunteer associate minister at my church who supports our paid senior minister, having had the same training as they’ve had, it’s always affirming to me to be considered just the pastoral professional as they are.

The tremendous giving heart that motivates volunteers, that inspires onlookers for their service, is the lifeblood of all our communities.  Honestly, we all live for stories of heroism that inspire us and our volunteers are at the top of that revered list, bringing all their skill and experience to bear without thought of what’s-in-it-for-me.

It has heartened me to see many paid people in emergency services join volunteer brigades, groups, and units and I hear they often do so to learn.  Many of our top paid professionals came from volunteer ranks, and what’s great about that is many of them retain that volunteering heart for service because they never forget that that’s what it’s about.  They stay grounded and in touch with their roots.  These are our very best leaders.

The old adage of “love what you do, and you’ll never have to work a day in your life” holds in these situations, and volunteering teaches people through their own experience that the opportunities and challenges of service are immense.  Indeed, if only we take that volunteering heart into our paid jobs, we not only serve in exceptional ways, that sense of goodwill comes back like a boomerang and honours us too.  This is how living as a community was always meant to be.

For many in the world of volunteering, the cause you serve becomes a driving purpose for life, and the team you serve with become like family, and in many cases ARE family.  Deep life experiences are shared with others and great bonds develop that build strength within us as individuals.

Volunteering makes us all better.  Volunteers are a living reminder of lives transformed through a heart for service through performing critical functions as teams.  They’re a beacon of inspiration rousing others, truly the hands and feet, ears and eyes, hearts and minds of sacrifice, doing those things that must be done very often without reward, other than the “thanks” that might come for phenomenal work done.

Today, and all days, is a day to thank a volunteer.

Photo credit to Wanneroo-Joondalup State Emergency Service Unit website.