Volunteering... or not.

I'm a volunteer; and have been for some ten years now at the Logan Art Gallery. Even when I lost the use of a car, I found my way to and from the place to cover my shifts; and have been relied upon to fill in for people when they've called in sick or unable to make their shifts for one reason or another. I'm a very reliable person.

However, I've noticed a very disturbing trend of late in the volunteering arena; and it's not a good one. People will come in, sign up, do the training, then when they're on the roster, they'll either not show or they'll call in and say they can't make it. This causes big holes in the roster. Just yesterday, I was looking at the roster and counted up to ten names crossed out; and they were all new people! I saw the odd regular (but it's rare when that happens). Now, I'm disappointed that people out there take advantage of such a great place like the art gallery I work in and think it's okay to just not show or drop out all because of transport problems. I have transport problems but I have worked around them. There are buses, taxis and - if you're lucky like I am - family and friends who will help you if you ask.
Once you become a regular at the gallery, and you get in to a routine of busing it there or figuring out the trains, you can find other things to do before arriving. There's plenty of places around the the Logan Art Gallery you can hang out at in air-conditioned comfort before walking there; like McDonald's for example (it's just down the road). Now, it's not just this place I've seen that has had problems with its roster; it's everywhere. And it's the same problem. People signing up, then dropping out thinking that volunteer organisations will survive without them. I'm afraid to tell you, but the more volunteers we have on our books, the better the volunteer organisations run and more places can be around to help the less fortunate or raise more money.

So, when you sign up to be a volunteer, make sure you really can spare your time. No, you don't get paid in cash. But yes, you will be paid in the grace. You will see how much you can help people through giving your time for the good of the community.