Maybe shouldn't have used the word significant. I think it's about $200/year for volunteers for this particular hospital (via Junior League) but will ask for clarification.
Volunteers that are part of Junior League pay significant fees (and/or raise money through fundraisers) to be part of the Junior League volunteer group. Junior League then donates significant money to the hospital through various causes/events, in addition to the volunteer hours. Therefore, I was mistaken in my understanding that I mentioned earlier. The hospital is run 60-70% via volunteers, with many through various volunteer organizations. This particular Junior League chapter has 5-10 different "committees" that a person can choose to volunteer. I guess my overall point is that if you suddenly have to put up with a bunch of extra BS to volunteer, I would expect some volunteers to choose a different committee, thus hurting the hospital's free labor.
My daughter and I are members of a local National Charity League chapter. It ain't "cheap" by any means. Yes, it looks good on a resume, yes a minimum amount of hours are required each year to maintain good standing, and yes there are issues. We pay an annual membership fee and throughout the year there are other mandatory events that all members are required to purchase a ticket for even if you don't attend the event. For instance, our annual fashion show which the junior class puts on, has a per ticket cost of $90 and you have to buy one each for mom and daughter(s) even if you don't go. A decent amount of the money raised from the auctions, gift baskets, vendor booths at the fashion show goes to support our philanthropies. However, we are not primarily a money-raising chapter so the majority of our work is in volunteer hours both on and off-site to support philanthropies. We have done anything from cleaning Marine barracks at Camp Pendleton to baking birthday cakes for the senior center, to stuffing Joy Jars for kids with cancer, to running an equestrian center for kids with all kinds of handicaps. Sometimes policy gets in the way of good works. Federal standards have recently been adopted by the local senior center and homemade birthday cakes are no longer being accepted. So my 2x/month donation is stopping because I can bake 2 quarter sheet cakes for $7 but I can't buy two of them for anywhere near that. When we volunteer on-site, more often than not, we end up spending half our time standing around waiting for something to do while they "organize" tasks. Why not have that shit done ahead of time? But it's all worth it because I get to spend a lot of time with my daughter, she's learning the importance of giving back, and hopefully learning that the world doesn't revolve around her.
So the ends justify the means in your opinion? Maybe I should get my kid and myself to start volunteering.
Camp Pendleton doesn't have enough privates to clean the barracks? This thread is the first I'm hearing that working for free is costing money and is a bureaucrazy into itself. Wouldn't it be easier and cheaper to just show up at a homeless shelter or an animal rescue organization and ofter to help doing something. Cook a meal for the homeless or pet the puppies and kittens. (that is actually done here at a local animal shelter to get the young animals used to humans and make them more adoptable.) Wouldn't things like look as good on a resume?
It happens all the time. Boy Scout leaders have to pay fees, donate $$ to the council, buy pricy uniforms, transport scouts on their own dollar, and spend money on many things in order to donate their valuable time to the BSA. I am sure it works this way in many places.
Of course. The thing about volunteering is it's no different anywhere or with any group. 20% of the people do 80% of the work and the rest are just lazy who take advantage. No, they don't. When a large group comes back from deployment it requires a lot of work to be done in a short amount of time. "Privates" are doing what they get paid for and that's training. You have to keep in mind, there are lots of wives left behind when their spouse is on deployment. They need to stay involved and keep busy. It was a wife who set up many of the things we do for Camp Pendleton, including babysitting and throwing baby showers. Lots of these young families are not from here and have very few family members or friends to rely on for help. I gotta tell you, the grossest part is cleaning the bathrooms. Thank God for bleach. Absolutely. Scout clothing is SO overpriced. But they look great placing flags on military graves on Memorial Day.
