“Why do you volunteer?” A question that has been asked to me for a long time, starting when I was 14 and volunteering to coach and then officiate youth basketball with my dad. It has been asked to me about being a member of an all volunteer armed forces, umpiring little league baseball, and lately, to me as a volunteer fireman.
To begin, let’s look at the definition of volunteering: verb, “toofferoneselfforsomeserviceorundertaking; toenterserviceorenlistasavolunteer.” The definition of Volunteer is: “apersonwhovoluntarilyoffershimselforherselfforaserviceor undertaking; apersonwhoperformsaservicewillinglyandwithoutpay.”
I am sure that you knew that, the definitions are pretty basic and forward. But, those definitions do not go into why a person, or more directly, why I volunteer. I think that a person that volunteers, doesn’t go out looking for instant gratification; I don’t go out volunteering thinking that the end result will reflect on me, but reflect on what I am volunteering for. I started in youth sports with my father early, and learned that it is not about me, and I want to take this time to thank him for that, as the foundation for my life was being set at that time. I believe that not everyone in the world can volunteer, it takes a special kind of person to do that. There is an innate ability of certain people that see a need, and then have the ability to fill the need, and then walk away without worrying about pay, a pat on the back, or even acknowledgment.
Let’s move forward to my time in the Air Force, a part of an all-volunteer force supporting and defending the constitution of the united states, against all enemies, foreign and domestic. (I am going to get on my soapbox for a few minutes here….sorry!) Members of the armed services are underpaid and overworked. When I joined, I was promised that if I gave 20 years or more to my country, that I would have free medical care for life, retirement benefits, and the support of the American People and the American Government. Guess what??? Not anymore…the same people that I promised to protect has taken mine and millions of other’s benefits and promises away and not even thought twice. (ok, thank you for listening to my rant!!) Although the benefits are dwindling, thousands of people volunteer everyday to stay in, or join the military. Why???? You can ask them, they are going to tell you anything from “the law made me do it” to “I had to find a way to get out {enter town name here}” and everything in between. I actually used many of the excuses (not the law made me do it one…LOL), but deep down it was because I knew it was the right thing to do…..and I did it for just over 23 years.
Last week my wife asked “Why do people be volunteer fireman, when you are expected to do everything a paid volunteer fireman does? Why do you train so much, run calls as much as you do, and still make time for a full-time job, a family, and hobbies and friends?” Then the other day, my daughter posted a comment on facebook that said – Whenever I tell people that my dad is a volunteer fire fighter, I get asked this question a lot: “why does he volunteer? He doesn’t get paid for it!” Twice in just a couple days,within my family alone, it was questioned on why someone would be a volunteer, or more specific a volunteer fireman.
I volunteer as a fireman for many reasons…..I think that it is in my genes; something in my genetic code makes me want to serve. I volunteer as a fireman because I feel the need to give to my community, as I felt the need to give to the Air Force and the american people. My community relies on us for everything from service calls to clean out culverts to keep their houses from flooding, to putting out major structural fires. We make service calls to trees in the middle of the road and cut them up and move them….doesn’t sound like much, but what if a member of your family needed to get down that road to get to the hospital in an emergency? We assist EMTs in the moving of people from their beds and chairs to stretchers to be transported to the hospital. We respond to car accidents and put our feelings aside as we perform CPR on a 12 year old child, or as we extract another victim from a twisted hull of a car that was hit by a semi truck. We stand in rain, snow, wind, through the light of the day, and the darkness of night providing a service to our community; making then feel safe and secure in knowing that within 6 minutes of calling 911, there is at least 1 engine and 4 fireman in route to where they are. We train every week on the physical and mental elements of being a fireman. We learn that fire is a living creature, that seems to think for itself, desires to breath and survive no matter what we do to defeat it. We learn that wearing over 30 pounds of gear, carrying a 2 inch attack line into a burning building is nothing compared to what might happen if we were not to respond. We learn the human side of our victims, and although we may never find out, we sit and wonder what the outcome of each of them was, how did they end up? We learn where on our trucks are a certain piece of equipment, knowing that the extra few seconds that we might take to find it, may be the difference between life and death. I could go on for a long time with things like this……
But to get to the original question, Why do I volunteer? It fills a void in me, a desire to provide a needed service, and not expect pay. It allows me to express myself, show my talents, share my fellowship with friends and brothers. It allows me to hold my head high, keep my shoulders square. It allows me to show to my friends and to my family that I do care for something or someone besides myself. It allows me to wake up in the morning and look into the mirror, and like the person I am looking at.
When I look back, I know that being a volunteer has taken time away from my loved ones, and in the case of the other night…..Sandra spent the night home alone, wondering what, if anything, was happening to me (http://www.wral.com/three-firefighters-injured-in-harnett-county-factory-fire/14602329/) as our fire department provided assistance to the county next to us. I left for training at 7pm, and arrived home from the fire at 6am the next morning.
Why do I volunteer? The question that should be getting answered, is why aren’t you??