Parent volunteers don’t have more time, they make time
I got home from one of my daughter’s swim meets not long ago with a very sore back. I offered to head up the snack booth at the team’s home meets, and I was tired from lugging water, Gatorade, ice and healthy and not-so-healthy snacks back and forth.
I took some Motrin, settled on the couch and asked my son to rub my shoulders. He cut to the chase as 13-year-olds often do.
“Why don’t you just quit doing that?” he asked. “Let somebody else do it for a change.”
My response was quick and brutally honest: I offered to help because I had a strong hunch no one else would. Here’s what I should have said: Habit.
Volunteering is like exercise. The more often you do it, the easier it becomes.
As the pain in my shoulders subsided, I thought about the other swim team parents who volunteer to be timers during meets, order swimsuits and other team gear and organize the end-of-year banquet. They are all familiar faces and not just for swim events. These are moms and dads who over the years have volunteered in classrooms, chaperoned on field trips and on and on.
It’s not that they have more time than other parents. In fact, my husband and I were at the citywide conference meet recently and over the loudspeaker one of the organizers (I’m sure he was a volunteer) said an extra timer was needed. After no one stepped forward from the very crowded spectator seats, my husband fresh from a long day at work, still in his suit and tie, offered to fill the void.
No, it’s not that parents who volunteer have more time, it’s that they make time.
The snack booth brought in a whopping $502.65 for the swim team. My daughter took charge of drawing up a shopping list for each of the four meets; and afterward, she counted the money and kept a balance sheet of profits and expenses. On the day of the meets, she helped me set up the booth before warming up for her races. Some of her girlfriends also offered to help. Volunteers in the making? I sure hope so.
As for me, I’ve got my eye on being a timer next year.
Comment by Giselle on 27 May 2009:
It’s so true! I know volunteering after a hard day’s work seems like a daunting task, but I absolutely agree: someone’s gotta do it…keep up the good work!