Tip of the Month

Creative Altruism

“Every man must decide whether he will walk in the light of creative altruism or in the darkness of destructive selfishness.” Martin Luther King, Jr.    In this season which is so special  and altruistic for many different faith communities, families and individuals, and so busy for many nonprofit organizations and their volunteer programs, it seems fitting to honor the creative altruism that motivates people to volunteer in such a variety of ways in our city. Whether they are packing and delivering meals, teaching classes, mentoring children, stuffing envelopes, acting as docents, entertaining at hospitals, befriending seniors or helping to raise funds, volunteers choose to engage in the tough work of connecting, collaborating, and growing. Although this is always a choice, there is also compelling and exciting neuroscience research that positions altruism itself as part of the hard-wiring of the human brain.   While many people may also be drawn to volunteering for less overtly altruistic reasons—i.e., to develop professional skills, to meet people, to demonstrate abilities or talents that are not utilized in their jobs—the urge is still a positive one. After all, it is a very good thing that our culture allows for such a multi-faceted approach to volunteering and that people perceive volunteering as a way to achieve personal goals. We certainly shouldn't ignore these other motivations because it is part of our job as Volunteer Managers to find out what our volunteers hope to get from the experience so that we can design programs and projects that serve their needs, that keep them coming back, and that ultimately better serve our clients, communities and institutions.

It is also one of the happier parts of our job to facilitate the expression of their creative altruism. When you’ve been working in the field of volunteer management for a while, you collect many of your own stories. You know about the volunteer who originally came to you because they wanted to improve their resume but who now talks about their students with stars in their eyes—and who has started to fit their volunteer shift into a busier schedule that now includes the job or career they were trying to get. And you continue to be amazed, strengthened and empowered by the volunteer who truly sees giving to others, most of whom are strangers at first, as an integral and necessary part of their life in New York City and on this planet!     So Happy Holidays, Joyous Winter Solstice and a Wonderful New Year to all of our communities, clients, colleagues, students, families, friends, loved ones and to the volunteers who really are working to make this a better world!
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Featured Member

Kevin Blum

Kevin Blum is Co-Director of Public Education and Visitor Services at The Cathedral Church of Saint John the Divine. Part of his responsibility is to oversee volunteers at the cathedral, it’s visitor center, gift shop and out in the community it serves.
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