Why
Volunteers Volunteer
By Jack Newell
Recruitment of volunteers requires throught and sensitivity.
As a group they should reflect the community geographically
and ethnically. Volunteers should be representative
of all age groups. There is a tendency to stereotype
people and create questionable conclusions about volunteering.
One of these is that working people don't have time
and don't wish to volunteer. Nothing could be further
from the truth.
Psychological motivations for volunteering include:
| Affiliation: |
The
need to associate with others that includes a sense
of belonging, including intimacy and membership
in a family or group |
| Variety: |
The
need for varied experiences in life; the need to
avoid boredom |
| Self-esteem: |
The
need to feel useful, capable, and/or important,
including a sense of status either within a group
or with an individual |
| Altruism:
|
The
need for self-giving and self-sacrifice |
| Achievement: |
The
need to reach important goals |
| Growth:
|
The
need to develop one's own abilities or to improve
one's situation in life |
Most of us need opportunities beyond work (including
homemaking) and the family to satisfy all of these six
needs. This is the primary purpose of outside activites.
In order to keep a person interested and committed to
a volunteer job, it must meet the combination of the
above needs that motivate a volunteer at that particular
time in his or her life.
|
