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| Path: Main Street : NewsWeek : Archive : Coffee with Cam Articles : Article |
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Calling a commitment
By Cam Tait
July 24, 2006
It's late Friday afternoon. The sun is slowly making its descent and the cool breeze is the precursor to a beautiful evening at the lake. It's only an hour drive, maybe less if traffic isn't too bad. Everyone will be there and even some people you haven't seen in a while. The cooler is still half-full and sitting by the campfire on the beach is so inviting...and then, all of sudden, you remember: you have a volunteer commitment at your favorite charity. You double check the calendar on the fridge and there it is, circled in red.
You have a tough decision to make.
Do you share time with your family at one of your favourite places on the planet? Or do you honour your word and remember how drawn you are to your volunteer efforts? Hey, we've all done it - calling in sick when we really have a 99.9% clean bill of health. We know deep down inside that we could really go into work, but there's an old friend in town, or perhaps even a chance to go to the lake on an afternoon. (Guess where I want to go?) So, we reassure ourselves that everyone at the office can fill in and cover our duties.
But is it the same for a volunteer role? It would be interesting to know - and, if I had my act together I would have made a few calls to get some information - if volunteers give as much notice as they can? Or, and at the risk of sounding callous, if something else more attractive comes up at the last second, do we take that opportunity? Do we gently tell ourselves, 'it's only volunteer time'? Perhaps what we selectively forget is the scrambling it will cause someone to find another person to take over our task. People still need to be fed, or taken for walks. Babies still need to be held. You can fill in the blanks.
There are a few questions that could be answered here. (That's a gentle prod for people to send me an e-mail.) Do volunteers give organizations lots notice if they can't fulfill a time commitment? Or, is the norm just a few hours ahead of their scheduled duty? And when that happens, does a mad scramble start to find someone else to share the load? What does that mean to everyone involved in the organization? Or am I making a mountain out of a molehill here? Is it even an issue?
While the beach beckons and the thought of an enjoyable evening at the cottage calls, a volunteer role awaits. To go, or not to go? Really, when it comes right down to it, there's only one person who can make the decision. So, what would you do?
Cam Tait is a sports reporter for the Edmonton Journal. He covered charitable issues for almost 20 years. Thoughts, comments, ideas or a simple hello are welcomed at cam@charityvillage.com.
Opinions expressed by columnists are their own and do not necessarily reflect the views of CharityVillage.com®.
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