[Community-service] Volunteering with teenagers/Setting yourself apart as a volunteer

[Chris Parsons]

Hi all,



A couple friends and I sometimes volunteer with a group for blind teens that I was a member of in middle and high school. The kids really love when we’re there, and they always have a lot of questions. But something has been on my mind almost ever since I started volunteering with them, and I was hoping some of you might have some thoughts.



Maybe it’s because I was once a member of the group and now have a hard time thinking of myself as a volunteer, or maybe it’s because I’m fairly introverted around most people, but most of the time when I volunteer with these kids I just feel like another member of the group. I think one of the benefits of working with groups where some of the people are close to your age is the ability to relate to them and for them to relate to you. I’ve definitely seen that happen as I’ve worked with this group. But a disadvantage is that I often find it hard to distinguish myself from the group and take on a leadership role. I’ve had kids half my age ask me if I need help getting from one place to another, and the other volunteers often bring me cups of juice or napkins at lunch before I even have a chance to go get my own. All of this leaves me not feeling very volunteer-like to these kids or very equal to the other volunteers. The times when I feel most comfortable are when my friends and I are standing in front of the group doing a presentation/Q and A on college prep or something similar rather than helping the kids with a craft or fitness activity.



So, there seems an obvious solution to this: Be more self-confident. And I know that is something I need to work on, in service settings and in general. I also know that some of it is plain confidence related and some of it is blindness skills related. And now that I think about it, I suppose this isnt really just a question applicable to working with groups of youth. As blind people, in whatever type of service we choose to do, we are likely to come across situations where the others in our group of volunteers and those who we are helping see us as needing help instead.



I’ve been a little nervous to put this forward because, as I said above, on the surface the solution seems pretty clear-cut and something that I need to work on myself. But the article that was posted yesterday about how service can be good for your health if you are doing something that is a good fit for you and something you enjoy finally inspired me to put this out there in hopes that some of you have had similar experiences and might be able to offer some thoughts. I would love to keep working with this group, and the kids really seem to like me and look up to me as a mentor, but I need to figure out how to be an effective volunteer, too.



Chris

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