Volunteer: Your heart will thank you for it

There are two parts of Florida Government that work nearly flawlessly.

The first is the elections operation. Even the self-appointed “bulls-in-china-shops” who have ravaged other states’ elections sectors, turning over every fictional and fantasy rock, agree that there’s little to complain about in the way we run our elections here. Much as I’d like to extoll this sector - though, I’ll tip my “Mocs” cap and move on - they do a great job, and everyone knows it. 

The State Parks service, chronically underfunded by the legislature, is the other. And they make it all work somehow, despite low pay, critically short staffing, and the wretched indifference of their bureaucratic overlords. Volunteers are also instrumental in making it work. These are little community groups, banding together to do everything from picking up litter to planning major events.

I recently wrote a column about the parks, in which Payne’s Prairie played a pivotal role, and I am happy to say that I visited over the holidays and – just as the director told me – they had completely redone their visitor’s center. New donor plaques are up, recognizing the good folks who had made this possible. But what truly struck me is that the center itself is entirely staffed by volunteers and it is nearly always open.

You would think that the pandemic might have somehow dampened this spirit of volunteerism – but it seems to have blossomed. It may be an American thing. I have noticed in my various travels overseas that there is an expectation that government do so many of these things. There’s not a thing wrong with that, and there are a lot of ways that government can help. But here, there are things that just seem to capture the imagination of folks with a little extra time – and they devote that time to their cause.

I have a friend up north who is deeply involved in the operation of her hometown kid’s soccer league. She got started with it when her own kids were playing – but they are long past the age where this is part of their lives, and there she is, loading in time and effort and expertise. Why?  “My heart is all tangled up in it,” she told me.

Look at the things we do: blood mobiles, reading to kids in libraries, recycling efforts. There are beach cleanups, service to the homeless, volunteering in hospitals. Who are the folks who hand out water at 5-K’s? Volunteers. These are folks giving a little of themselves without – really – any hope of reward, past helping their communities, and the good feeling of having done something helpful.

Volunteerism, and volunteers – helping out where help is needed, in all sorts of ways – probably has particular draw here, because it is embedded in our culture. They take on far more dangerous tasks than coaching soccer, too. The US Sanitary Commissions of the Civil War era nursed wounded soldiers on and off the battlefield. Volunteer nurses served during past pandemics – and there are volunteers working in this one, too. We also have an all-volunteer military – we’ve not had a draft since the mid-1970s. But also intertwined is the simple, everyday concern for others and for community that drives forward the impulse to “do our share” – in the little ways that make so much difference.

In the end, “liberty” means we can make choices about how we spend our time; we choose the aspects of life that draw us in and participate in them in all sorts of ways. Some border on the professional. I’ve been over to the Pasco County Historical Society, for example, and these volunteers run their own museum.

“Free” time is precious – especially in an economic climate that encourages overtime and overwork. But what some folks have discovered is that extra bit of time, given freely to the greater good, may lessen the more burdensome aspects of life generally. It’s well worth a try. 

Volunteer: your heart will thank you for it.

R. Bruce Anderson is the Dr. Sarah D. and L. Kirk McKay, Jr. Endowed Chair in American History, Government, and Civics and Miller Distinguished Professor of Political Science at Florida Southern College. He is also a columnist for The Ledger and political consultant and on-air commentator for WLKF Radio.