Volunteerism

Volunteers are priceless, an unusual commodity in many countries but widespread in the US. Every nook and cranny seems to have volunteers ranging from academia to sports, from neighborhood organizations to churches

Can you imagine the church without volunteers? Sure, we hire staff, sometimes too many while at times not enough, but the church-at-large runs on volunteers. Like teachers, choir members (where a choir is still in vogue), leaders, board and council members, bus drivers, grounds-keepers, nursery attendants, secretarial help and don't forget all those meals, potlucks, coffee hours made possible by volunteers. Youth leaders, drivers for those handicapped by age or infirmities. It is endless, really.

True, many churches in our country are hurting, financially, especially those without adequate volunteers who tithe both time and money, energy and expertise. My wife and I volunteer in eight or nine activities in our own church. And we are hardly exceptions. Many enjoy using their skills while others seek a break from their daily challenges.

Let me share one statistical message that came in the mail in May, 2009. This organization, CBI (Crossroad Bible Institute) ministers to prisoners through Bible Studies via mail. Last year, 27,556 hours were donated at the CBI offices and 217,962 hours were donated by Instructors correcting lessons and writing letters to the students. That's almost a quarter of a million hours.

And these figures are conservative. If you were to multiply those hours by an average, say, of a modest $10.00 an hour, we are talking about nearly $2.5 million dollars. Incidentally, according to the Corporation for National and Community Service, the value per hour of a volunteer is $19.50. Nothing like a little modesty above.

In short, every dollar given to CBI is almost tripled or more by volunteerism. If you are a volunteer, you know the joys accompanying it even though you may not have a real idea of its value, in terms of money, efficiencies and even the ability to make organizations viable.

Our gratitude is extended to everyone who volunteers for entities worth their existence, like CBI, the church around the corner, the community symphony orchestra and the zillion other benefactors.