Volunteerism is Thriving
This graph is the number of postings by organizing groups on VolunteerConnector.org for the year 2020 so far.
I am sure at first glance it looks like lots of data that has been shared in this “unprecedented time”. You might be thinking YIKES! volunteerism is another casualty of the global pandemic. You would be wrong.
In his book on belonging Sebastian Junger says of us humans that we “don't mind hardship, in fact they thrive on it”. The past couple months have been full of both but caring for each other has definitely been thriving. It just hasn’t always been identified as volunteerism. It is though, and it's missing from the graph above.
There is a lot missing from the graph; board members that have continued to gather and look ahead, frontline agencies who have continued to rescue, provide shelter and food. Plus all of these things: keeping in touch, doing shopping for someone, helping with cleaning and gardening, collecting prescriptions, providing meal support, providing IT support, helping with pets, providing tutoring, providing transport to appointments, making personal protective equipment, attending marches and protests, writing to members of government, using social media…so much great work!
We don’t know what Autumn is going to look like or what 2021 will feel like. What we do know is that humans have been and will continue to take care of each other. So; if you run an organization in the evenings between your paid employment ... or you work for an org that is still figuring out how to engage safely in person ... or in a digital space ... or if you use your social media platform to amplify messages, or any of the other things that keeps us all connected and feeling safe ...
Keep on going!