Volunteering: Contribution to the Community Essay -- Community Service

Never doubt that a sm both group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world indeed, its the only thing that ever has.- Margaret MeadVolunteerism, in its conceptual form, includes the individual or collective efforts of willing individuals, known as volunteers, to act in ways which work toward the betterment of oneself, other individuals, communities, and/or society. This comment remains subjective in its ambiguity regarding the meaning of betterment, as well as in the sense that the means to bettering oneself may be in withdraw opposition to the means necessary to better another individual or society. Despite the subjectivity of this definition, this cosmopolitan description of volunteerism is necessary for communication within the aforementioned(prenominal) framework and reference in this discussion.In our Christian language, we may prefer to call volunteering, serving. Service moves from mere physical motions to human action (Wuthnow 1991 45). Service incorporates a ll aspects of our humanity, instead of just the physical need at hand. Love, justice, compassion, action, presence, and understanding embody the cultural framework of Christian service, to which this human action refers. Service goes a standard further than volunteering ones free afternoon to dish out food at a local soup kitchen it sits down and eats with the homeless and shares in their experiences.The general volunteer trend in the United States is one in which an individual volunteers his/her time, services, or funds. As Newsweeks article Powells New War demonstrates, most Americans perceive volunteering as an act in which one must do something and nice gesture which has benefits. Though this observation is a generalization, rarely do Americans view voluntee... ...l as in the method to accomplish it. One connection however, is their similar quest for creating a framework of support in which persons can feel valued and needed. The idea of financial support reflects a similar n otion of the mentoring relationship found in Powells model of volunteerism. The difference, however is that mentors take on a parental role, while the goal of addendum is to stay away from any sign of paternalism.Works CitedAaker, Jerry. Partners With The Poor, New York Friendship Press, 1993. Alter, Jonathan. Powells New War. Newsweek 28 April 1997 27&SHY37. Chambers, Robert. Rural Development Putting the remainder First. New York John Wiley & Sons, 1983. Ohrt, Wallace. Accidental Missionaries. Downers Grove, Illinois InterVarsity Press, 1991. Wuthnow, Robert. Acts of Compassion. Princeton Princeton University Press, 1991.