Why Do We Volunteer?

During his 2002 State of the Union address, President George W. Bush called upon every American to contribute 4000 hours (2 years) of their lives to volunteer service. He called upon every American because, "Everyone can do something". Woodmen/Assured Life has been engaged in and promoting volunteer service for over a century now; we know the benefits of volunteerism and we're glad that others are beginning to get involved too!

Now, President Barack Obama in getting into the act.  On Monday, June 22, 2009, President Obama kicked-off an initiative known as "United We Serve."  Now whether you agree with President Obama's policies or not, this new initiative, which the White House is launching in partnership with the Corporation for National and Community Service, is important to us and the communities in which we live.  Volunteerism is a fundamental piece of making lives better, of improving our communities and enriching our own lives as well as others. 

United We Serve is "encouraging Americans to create meaningful change in their communities by engaging in service."  That is what we are all about.  Our Camps/Lodges have been doing this for over a century now!!   United We Serve will run from June 22nd through September 11, 2009.  All the tools for participating in this initiative can be found at Serve.gov.  Check it out!!  There are suggestions for projects and getting started.  The areas of focus for the initiative is education, health, energy, the environment and community renewal.

While most of us are familiar with some of the most common reasons for volunteering, such as making a difference and helping others, there are many additional reasons and motivations such as:

• Learning a new skill and gaining experience in a particular skill
• Spending quality time with your family
• Teaching your children strong, positive values
• Meeting new people
• Changing someone's life
• Exploring new career options or networking opportunities

We could never list all of the reasons to volunteer.  We all have our own reasons and we all have different skills and abilities to contribute. We hope that you'll use the information we've provided in this section to explore your own goals in volunteering and find an opportunity that matches your needs.