by Mike Webb

Created on: March 10, 2009   Last Updated: January 03, 2011

Volunteer for something you are passionate about.

Many times people volunteer because they are asked to and even made to feel a little guilty about it if they don't. My son and I were great at building fast pinewood derby cars; he won 3 years in a row. When the Cubmaster retired, I decided to take the position because I really liked being a part of all the activities. I was passionate about the program.

It's ok to say no, and sometimes it's important to say no for a good reason.

You have a life and it's important to keep that life in balance. If you volunteer for everything that comes along then someone is being sacrificed for your time. My wife and I used to do just about everything in Church until we realized how miserable we were as a family. We rarely had family time, as we were too busy trying to fix everyone else's problems. I quit feeling guilty about not doing everything at church and decided God intended me to be great at a few things, not just good at several.

Use the talents you have to the community's advantage.

I like working with young people, so I took over the scouts. I have a good knowledge on how a business works so I try to run the scouting organization like a business. I have good marketing skills so I helped the scouts raise enough money to keep them running for at least 3 years. I am fairly good at writing articles so I keep the community posted on what's happening. I was an auto mechanic so I developed a pinewood derby seminar. Make good use of the talents you have so you can make the community strong using your strongest ally yourself!

Be prepared to be disappointed without losing heart.

Many times I have put together a program, showed up for a meeting and poured my heart into the volunteer organization only to see maybe one or two people show up. It is disheartening to say the least, but that is what volunteerism and citizenship is about. You have to take the valleys with the mountain top experiences. You soon find out that volunteer organizations are just that, they may or may not show up, it's not like a company where all the employees know they have a job to do, but there will be people in your volunteer organization that really make up for the down times. Although I can say that I have learned the curve and now cancel certain things if I don't get the commitment from enough people.

Be sincere or get out. (A little harsh, but true)

If you can't be sincere with what you are doing in an organization or in general for the community then maybe

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