Jessica Daugherty
March 25, 2011
W240
Critical Bibliographical Essay-Volunteering By Definition
“Volunteers are broadly defined as individuals who receive no monetary
reward for helping others.”(Butler, DePhelps, and Gray, 1995, p. 5) Swanson would
agree by saying that the volunteering is an outgrowth of a basic sociological
principle of man wanting to interact within a group and to their relations with
fellow man. As I walk into Mother Hubbard’s Cupboard I can notice two distinct
groups among one sub group of the Hub’s culture. There is a similarity among the
individuals respectfully within each designated distinctions. The individuals who
are there by choice, the volunteers, are either there by means of a grade or they
need the services that the Hub offers. The way each group interacts, their age, the
clothes they wear, the same type of language that is used to communicate among
them all indicate there insider perspectives and opinions. Upon starting
conversation among these culture it is apparent that they have similar backgrounds.
Why? Like most groups of individuals, there is something that holds them together
with the rest of their peers. Some aspects of life or interests allow for the grouping
to occur within the group itself. This group, the volunteers are often associated as
being the privileged, able to help out of leisure time. They are known to be “giving”
and “mindful” of society, their fellow citizens and the world with which they
interact. According to Swanson the most satisfaction came from the work that the
volunteers did during their hours of service and contributed to the key main factor
as to why people volunteered to begin with. Is Volunteering summoned by a greater
calling to do good or is it a necessity to fulfill a need like each group among the
volunteers?
By surveying a group of pantry workers on how long they have been with the
Hub the answer will either be one of two distinct answers; I’m enrolled in a service
learning course through IU so I need it for class credit or I have friends that used the
services at the Hub, I needed these services and so I started volunteering to shop. So,
either way it was a necessity to volunteer. It really isn’t a social, humanitarian
higher calling or a self righteous plan to become a more productive member of
society. Yet everything I’ve ever heard of volunteers and about volunteering,
nothing broaches the topic of necessity and force. If I am forced to put in hours at a
community agency am I actually under the term “volunteering”? According to the
statement above it is, but what if you think a volunteer is under the definition, “One
who enters into, offers himself/herself of any service of his/her own free will. “
I think it is important to look at the history of volunteerism, especially since
I’m focusing on American culture and history. Volunteerism really made a push in
the 1970’s mostly because of the stability that ensued after the cultural turmoil of
the 60’s and the push for citizen action to help their peers. Major non-profits were
created that pushed for people to not only give monetary donation, but to now be
actively seeking involvement with Richard Nixon’s campaign to establish within
individuals and communities the behavior of helping others to experience and
benefit from this nature of generosity. (Swanson 9) But it wasn’t until 1996 that the
President and Congress passed the Welfare Reform Act that took most of the burden
for assistance in the government’s hands.. Swanson’s, The Volunteer Handbook was
created in the 1970 to list the correct etiquette for a volunteer, their organization
and for the standard business aspects that were to be expected. What is interesting
is the progression of the “types” of volunteers in the last 40 years. The poles that
were taken in the 70’s and up into the 1990’s, the stereotypical volunteer was a
married, white mother with no higher education who gave her time diligently to a
charity of her choice on the weekends. (National Center for Education Statistics)
Obviously statistics are just surveyed groups of a minority, but now the trend has
completely gone in the other direction with a white, single male in his early 20’s
with higher education to push for his discoveries. This isn’t a bad thing by any
means, it does show progression in the world and being concerned for a better life.
It does however show that education is the key determinant in volunteering. I guess
one just isn’t concerned about giving time if they aren’t educated past high school,
even after those references and pushes from such an early age.
Davis stated that volunteers and volunteerism is a term very familiar to all
Americans even since the young age of 8 in his document Factors Influencing the
Recruiting and Retaining of Volunteers in Community Organizations. Volunteerism is
something prominent in American culture and something very sacred and
important and is shown to have been a very important aspect of education itself. We
have a privilege to be knowledgeable about and have access to such great nonprofits
like United Way, The Red Cross and a list that could go on infinitely especially if we
list all of the small nonprofits in local communities. Much like Mother Hubbard’s
Cupboard here in Bloomington the key component to all of these organizations
however large or small is the help that is provided to them in free labor. “Volunteers
are a community-based organization’s greatest asset, especially in times of
decreasing public and private financial resources.” (Butler, DePhelps, and Gray,
1995 p. 5)
However it is easy to see the statistics that are listed in the report from the
Corporation for National and Community Service on College Students Helping
America it statistically shows that college students will volunteer more than their
peers not seeking higher education, 30.2% to 15.1% respectively (5) Is it because
that the curriculum has changed in progressive higher education with Service
Learning? Heilker, Franklin and Bridwell-Bowles would all most certainly agree
knowing their background on a push to incorporate the classroom outside into the
communities for better, fuller education. Given Heilker insisted that civic writing
was key to a better learning environment and Franklin insisted upon relection to be
key among this ciriculum all had in mind a more “mindful”, “giving” reception in
education. However even if education can aid from more real world experience it
could actually undermine the definition of volunteering. This push for more learning
outside of the classroom, of allowing all of these service agencies to be flooded with
these human capital, it may be forever changing and morphing what volunteering
alone in itself.
In Davis’s essay, sighting Butler, DePhelps, and Gray, he gives their evidence
of 5 intrinsic values to why people will volunteer: altruism, self-interest, social
outlet, training and/or job experience and finally obligation. (8 & 9) However I do
think it has changed since 1995 especially since our Great Recession, in harder
times and especially when jobs are getting harder and harder to grasp because the
clout of our society growing at such an exponential rate, it has become a necessity to
volunteer. The people that would most likely be affected by these hardships,
uneducated citizens and yet we see these people volunteering to simply gain better
access to the service itself. Education must have also played a role in changing the
reasons for why people would be more inclined to give back like stated so many
times previously.
From a philosophical standpoint, this is an ethical situation that volunteering
is now found in. On one hand it is wonderful that the amount of volunteers have
risen and the age group is getting younger showing concern for a better way of
living and giving back, but on the other it is a regulated push, a mandatory
obligation which defines the very definition of the word. It almost can’t be termed
“volunteering” it should be called a duty, our civic obligation to give back since the
best way to gain true access to these organizations is by giving our human capital to
their arsenal.
Works Cited
Bridwell-Bowles, Lillian. “Service-Learning: Help for Higher Education in a New
Millennium?” Writing the Community: Concepts and Models for ServiceLearning in Composition. Eds. Linda Adler-Kassner, Robert Crooks, and Ann
Watters. Urbana, IL: NCTE, 1997. 19-27
Davis, Kyle R. Factors Influencing the Recruiting and Retaining of Volunteers in
Community Organizations. 2000. ERIC. EBSCO. Web. 24 Feb. 2011.
Franklin, Betty. “Reading and Writing the World: Charity, Civic Engagement, and Social
Action.” Reflections 1.2 (Fall 2000): 24-29.
Gray, B. Allison. "The Call to Service." Library Journal 134.12 (2009): 28-30. ERIC.
EBSCO. Web. 24 Feb. 2011.
Heilker, Paul. “Rhetoric Made Real: Civic Discourse and Writing Beyond the
Curriculum.” Writing the Community: Concepts and Models for Service-Learning
in Composition. Eds. Linda Adler-Kassner, Robert Crooks, and Ann Watters.
Urbana, IL: NCTE, 1997. 71-78
Swanson, Mary T., and Ankeny, IA. Des Moines Area Community Coll. Your Volunteer
Program; Organization and Administration of Volunteer Programs. 1970. ERIC.
EBSCO. Web. 24 Feb. 2011.
Washington, DC. Corporation for National and Community Service, et al. "College
Students Helping America." Corporation for National and Community Service
(2006): ERIC. EBSCO. Web. 24 Feb. 2011.
National Center for Education Statistics (ED), Washington, DC. Community Service and
Volunteerism. Indicator of the Month. 1996. ERIC. EBSCO. Web. 24 Feb. 2011.