Helping Out : O.C. Experts Know the Pitfalls of Volunteer Burnout--and How to Avoid Them

No more vows, no more procrastination. This time you’re going to do it. You realize you can’t change the world, but you’re finally convinced that helping somebody, even a little, means something.

You are going to volunteer.

So you sign up. Might be at a homeless shelter in Westminster, a convalescent hospital in Costa Mesa, a school in Anaheim Hills. You’re elated with your altruism and ability to commit--and truly excited about the new challenge ahead.

Then the work begins. It’s good. You’re liking this. You’re glad you took the step.

But six months later you’ve dropped out, and the agency to which you had become faithfully committed can’t remember your name.

What happened?

Any number of things can lead to volunteer dropout. But, say local volunteer coordinators, if you realize up front what the pitfalls are, you can avoid them.

“For example, people get overenthusiastic about how much time they have; they overcommit themselves and realize they can’t follow through,” says Elizabeth Hoskins, agency services manager of the Volunteer Center of Orange County, which links volunteers with nonprofit agencies that need their help.

“Unfortunately, at this point sometimes they drop out completely instead of sitting down and saying, ‘I think I was a little too enthusiastic; can we cut this down to one day a week instead of two or three?’ which definitely can be worked out.”

Volunteering far from home or work or accepting a task that’s not challenging or gratifying are others ways to court trouble.

Successful volunteerism boils down to finding the right fit--whatever your age and skills, whether you go through a volunteer center to connect or simply walk in the door of a place you think could use some help.

It’s no different from finding the fit for the job you get paid for, says Carol Stone, Volunteer Center president.

“It’s just like taking a real job; if it’s boring and dull, for instance, there’s no way they’re going to stick with it.”

Finding the right fit--again, like discovering the right career--begins with self-analysis.

Do you want to work with children, the homeless, the elderly? Does your schedule permit a weekly commitment, or would a one-time opportunity, say to help renovate a school over a weekend, be best? Do you want to meet new people? Work alone or in a group? Work eight hours or one? Try something entirely new or stay within your field of expertise?

More questions to ponder: Do you have transportation? How far are you willing to drive? (Most people volunteer within six miles of home.) Do you like performing the same task or prefer variety? You may be good with numbers, but do you have the complex accounting skills asked for? Do you have child care, if needed? Are you sure you want to get up an hour earlier to tutor fifth-graders?

Likewise, when you approach the Volunteer Center or the smaller Volunteer Exchange--both of which draw on data banks of some 700 county agencies to match volunteers--ask specific questions about the job and what will be expected. Do the same once you’re in contact with a specific agency.

Once the work begins, if you’re dissatisfied, speak up and ask for a change. If the host agency can work things out, it will. Both the Volunteer Center and the Volunteer Exchange say they also will find something more suitable.

“If the job isn’t right,” Stone says, “then you need to communicate that, and say, ‘This doesn’t fit.’ . . . Don’t be shy to ask for exactly what you want and to say no” to what you don’t want.

If you don’t want a standing commitment, opportunities for one-shot deals abound. Members of the Volunteer Center’s singles group, for instance, meet once a month to choose as many--or as few--weekend volunteer activities for the month as they desire.

Younger volunteers--the Volunteer Center has put supervised folks as young as 5 and unsupervised youths 14 and up to work--often can’t keep weekly volunteering commitments, Stone said. “Because of their school schedules and tests and vacations, they too like to do projects that may take a day or several weekends, rather than committing every Thursday at 4.”

Anyone may call either the center or the exchange as late as 24 hours before the desired volunteering day. These organizations generally know about short-term volunteer opportunities, ranging from an hour to a weekend.

“That might mean visiting the frail elderly in their homes to give them companionship,” Stone said, “doing repairs on someone’s home, putting on a party for the developmentally disabled or taking them on a camping trip for a weekend.

“It’s not that a person has to commit their life to volunteering,” she said, “but hopefully they’ll commit the time it takes to complete whatever they get involved in.”

How else to avoid committing yourself to something you don’t like? Tell the host agency that you’d like to volunteer on a trial basis.

“That’s a fabulous way for people, without making a commitment right away, to shop it out before they make a decision,” Stone said.

“I always tell volunteers,” she added, “this is a choice. Volunteering should be fun. If it’s not fun, you need to say no, and if you’re not learning something you need to, say no. You don’t do it just out of guilt or saying, ‘Well, I’ll do anything,’ because that doesn’t work out.”

Volunteering in Orange County

* Volunteer Center of Orange County, (714) 953-5757

* Volunteer Exchange, (714) 375-7755