Rec Sports

David Trinko: Make the time to volunteer

By David Trinko The Lima News By David Trinko The Lima News You have the time. You just have to make the choice. People say the younger generations isn’t stepping up to volunteer with organizations. They hear the same answers, that people don’t have time. People are too busy with work or their children’s activities […]

Published

on


By David Trinko

The Lima News

By David Trinko

The Lima News

You have the time. You just have to make the choice.

People say the younger generations isn’t stepping up to volunteer with organizations. They hear the same answers, that people don’t have time. People are too busy with work or their children’s activities to help out.

If you’ve binge-watched a TV show or picked up a new hobby recently, I respectfully suggest you think again. You’re not too busy. You’ve made a choice to spend your time that way. You declared your priorities.

Volunteerism is so important to keep the things we like about living in the places we live. We’d have fewer opportunities for entertainment and enrichment if there weren’t so many volunteers out there.

I’ve been thinking about this, strangely enough, as I wrap up my time as a volunteer with an organization I hold close to my heart, Allen Lima Leadership. For the past 18 years, I’ve helped with the youth classes several times a year, teaching useful leadership skills to high school sophomores and juniors. Two of my daughters have been through the class.

I’d decided at the beginning of the year that this would be my last time through the class. Greater work responsibilities and other opportunities to meaningfully donate my time came along. My interests changed over time, and I hated that it felt like I was going through the motions with these recent classes of young leaders. They deserved all-in, totally engaged volunteers.

They deserve someone who’s as enthusiastic as I was back in the day. It’s time for a new generation to take over.

I’m not getting out of the volunteer game altogether. I’m just shifting my focus. I’m needed more for coaching youth sports or helping in leadership capacities with other organizations where I’ve helped out informally for years.

I remember being a young parent, taking my daughter to a youth basketball practice for the first time. As I dropped her off, I noticed the coach there alone, trying to handle a dozen kindergarteners while her infant son clung to her leg. Instead of wandering off for that hour, I asked her if she needed help. It was that simple, and it led to getting to coach all of my daughters at some point in their youth.

I know there’s a perception out there that volunteering is somehow giving of yourself. I disagree with that entirely. I get way more out of my donated time than I ever put it into it.

I’ve met so many interesting people who I never would’ve known. I have a soft spot in my heart for the youth, and I love when they stop me in public to tell me what they’ve done since I helped them in some small way when they were young. It’s so rewarding.

Recently I’ve been helping keep the Jefferson Awards going here in Lima. It’s so rewarding to see the humility of the people recognized as top volunteers in the area. They feel the same way I do about volunteering: Someone’s got to do it, so why shouldn’t it be me?

Organizations throughout the area are just looking for a little bit of help a few times a year. Find something that speaks to you. Let them know you can help a little, even if it’s just moving tables around before an event or agreeing to sign people into something. You’d be amazed how much a little bit of your time can help.

David Trinko is editor of The Lima News. Reach him at 567-242-0467, by email at [email protected] or on Twitter/X @Lima_Trinko.





Link

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Trending

Exit mobile version