Institutionalized Good

I love working with volunteers and being part of the good they are creating in the world. As I have worked in the volunteer field I have made observations in regards to how people "do good".

Volunteer programs are essential to nonprofits and to the communities those nonprofits serve. They build capacity for providing education, services and advocacy around important social issues. They also create community by bringing together people who are passionate about the same issue; the original Facebook group. Originally many of these nonprofits began because there was some void in support or services for a particular group of people. And just like any industry people realized it would be more efficient to build a unified structure to deliver these supports and services. As nonprofits became more prolific the community began to more regularly look to nonprofits as a source of information, support and service. Everything was looking good. We had an issue, a group from the community decided to do something about it and now we have an institution to rely on. Peachy.

There is nothing wrong with this model but I do believe it has had an effect on how we "do good" in the world. People rely on nonprofits for their services but also as a way to impact their community, they become volunteers. Volunteering means going to an institution in order to make a difference; getting permission to help someone. The result is a person might not recognize their neighbor is hungry and in turn offer to invite that family over for dinner. Instead they search for a volunteer opportunity to work at a food shelf or kitchen to serve families affected by food scarcity; maybe ending up serving at the food shelf their neighbors go to. In some ways we have institutionalized good. Through the system of service we have shifted the responsibility of people taking care of people and neighbors taking care of neighbors to an institution.

I believe there is a balance in providing opportunities through nonprofits to serve others and empowering and encouraging people to take action immediately when they see the need in their community. As a professional Volunteer Manager I would encourage my colleagues to understand this balance of collaboration and empowerment. As organizers we have the opportunity to bring people together and also give them the knowledge, tools and maybe the push they need to make a difference in the world. We can balance bringing people into our organization with supporting the organic service they are doing in their community.

Test this theory: If you are wondering whether or not you live in a neighborhood where people take care of people and neighbors take care of neighbors do this one activity. Go to each house on your block and ask for a cup of sugar. Let me know how many cups of sugar you collected and what you learned about your neighbors.