In The Great War, 1914-1918, as it was called before we started numbering our World Wars, Australia, with a population of around 5 000 000 stunned the world when 416,809 of its citizens volunteered to fight overseas. Among those volunteers were 2,861 nurses. The statisticians tell us that almost 40% of Australian men between the ages of 18 and 44 years of age volunteered to serve in the Australian Armed Forces.
Australia has a proud tradition of mateship and
volunteering. In summer our hundreds of beaches are patrolled by volunteer surf
life savers. In the bush our country regions rely on volunteer firefighters during the
bushfire season. In our schools, great work is done by volunteers. There are
teachers who volunteer to spend a week away from their families to take
children on camps, where they will be on duty 24/7. Teachers who volunteer to
provide after school, activities, to coach, train and manage children in after school
sporting and cultural events. Great work is done by many parents who volunteer
to work for the Parents and Citizens Association to provide resources for the benefit
of children in schools. Our hospitals rely on volunteer workers to operate gift shops, libraries and visit the sick and the
lonely. There are volunteers at the Perth Zoo, on Rottnest Island, Kings Park and
many other tourist places who assist and inform visitors. In every local sporting club there are volunteers. St Vincent de Paul, The Salvation Army, The Good Samaritans and a host of other service organisations rely on volunteers to assist those in need and provide important community services.Our society would not function as it does were it not for people who volunteer their time, energy and expertise for the benefit of others.
Of course, there are volunteers and then there are volunteers. People have various reasons for volunteering. During the Great War some men volunteered because they feared receiving a letter containing a white feather, a sign of cowardice. Some signed up because they actually did receive a white feather in a letter. The wives, mothers, sisters and sweethearts of those men who had voluntarily enlisted, often used a lot of emotional blackmail against able bodied men who had not enlisted.
Some people volunteer because the enjoy the camaraderie and excitement of being involved in voluntary work with a group of other enthusiastic volunteers. We have all heard of the rogue Volunteer Firefighter who starts a bushfire so that he can be with his mates, fighting the fires and earning the admiration of the general populace.
Having spent about 45 years in and around schools I know from experience the valuable work of volunteer teachers and parents. However, I also have observed one or two parents who joined the P&C Executive Committee in leadership roles because they felt it would give then some authority in the school community which they could then use to their own advantage or the advantage of their children.
So, volunteers come in all, shapes and sizes. Thankfully, the vast
majority volunteer because they have seen a need and have decided to do
something about it. Our society relies of the work of so many volunteers in so
many ways.The really good news is that volunteering is good for you. In
the 1970s a team of psychologists visited two Fraternity Hoses at a university
in the USA. We
will call them Frat A and Frat B. ( I have referred to this study in a blog story before. So, if you know what is coming you may wish to fold up your tent and decamp in the direction of Off.)
Each student was tested for stress and anxiety levels and their general well being. Students in both Fraternity Houses, on average, registered around same levels of anxiety and well being. The psychologists gave the students in Frat B a specific task to do. Frat A was to carry on as usual. They said they would return in six months to do follow up tests.
Six months later they returned and administered the same test again. The researchers found that students in Frat A had slightly higher anxiety levels and slightly lower levels of feelings of well being. This was understandable as the university year was in full swing and students had exam and money pressures affecting them. However, the Frat B students had reduced anxiety levels and increased feeling of well being. The team of psychologists attributed this enhanced score to the specific task they had given each of the students in Frat B.
What was this magical task that made Frat B students feel better about themselves, even under the pressures of academic life? Each of the Frat B students was asked to do their roommates laundry. That was it. The simple task of doing their roommates laundry once a week had made all of these Frat B students feel good about themselves.
Volunteering does wonders for our society. It also does wonders to those who volunteer. It is never too late to volunteer . A BIG THANK YOU to those who do.
