Left : My son , Quinn , began delivering neighborhood newsletters when he was a baby strapped to my back . With every issue , his involvement increased . Here he is at age three taking one to a neighbor ’ s doorstep .
Above : It took a lot of negotiating , organizing , and dozens of volunteers to get these “ Zero Waste Zones ” instituted at an Oregon farmers ’ market 15 years ago .
Above : I lived in a beautiful Boise neighborhood filled with amazing volunteers ! In 2018 , I hosted our first “ Volunteer Appreciation Picnic ” to properly thank my dedicated team of neighborhood helpers .
Photos by Stephanie Matlock Allen
Who Is Volunteering For ?
“ Volunteering is for the birds ! If a job is worth doing , it ’ s worth being paid for .” So said my friend ’ s mother-inlaw . We met at a coffee morning , and I was so taken aback that I didn ’ t have a reply . I ’ d been telling her about the Great Books Literature Program , which had recently been introduced at my daughters ’ ( and her granddaughters ’ school .) The children had loved it , and I ’ d enjoyed teaching it . The children were intrigued to learn that there were no right or wrong answers to the questions they were asked , and they visibly relaxed when they considered this new concept . It was an important one , as the children were , in my opinion , rather over-controlled in Monroe Elementary School in the 1980s .
The program is an introduction to literary criticism that begins with young children and continues into adulthood . I was invited to attend a weekend workshop with other volunteers , and then we spent one afternoon a week in local schools in rural Connecticut putting it into practice . The children were given a short story or extract from a novel to read at home . They re-read the story at the beginning of the lesson and then answered open-ended questions set by the program and asked by the leader . The children were encouraged to think and discuss and always enjoyed sharing their answers with the rest of the group . There were some lively debates as their confidence grew .
What could my reply have been to that woman ’ s comment , and what could I have said without sounding pompous ? Volunteering is partly about selfgratification and the satisfaction that comes from feeling useful and helping others . It ’ s also about companionship and meeting others . And it ’ s about doing something worthwhile . It ’ s 40 years too late to answer that self-satisfied woman drinking her coffee in a neighbor ’ s house but the best reply could have been , “ I volunteered because it was fun and we all enjoyed ourselves .”
– Jenny Mather