By Tamara Whitmore
Years of volunteering as a way to gain experience in my chosen field, Environmental Education, culminated in an 11 month term of service with Americorps through Maine Conservation Corps and working for the Department of Environmental Protection in the Watershed Division. That experience, which also served as my second practicum requirement for graduate school, directly prepared me for my current position as the Director of Education with the Friends of the Cobbossee Watershed (Friends), an actual year round paid position in which I use both my education and volunteer experiences on a daily basis. I thought I had finally graduated from the volunteer realm and was now a member of what once felt like a distant, unattainable goal – a financially viable career in the profession I love.
But I was dead wrong. Not in that I don’t have a paying job (and I count my blessings everyday that I am able to do something in which I feel like I’m making a difference and pay my bills) but that I was wrong in thinking that I was, for the most part, done with volunteering. If anything, my volunteering schedule has picked up steam! However, instead of unpaid internships, or volunteering for this event or that chaperone needed for a school field trip, I am now volunteering my professional expertise to planning committees and organizational boards. To the point that I sometimes feel I have two full time jobs – my “day” job at the Friends and my personal commitment to two organizations that help promote Environmental Education in the state of Maine (Maine Environmental Education Association or MEEA) and throughout New England (New England Environmental Education Alliance or NEEEA).
As a member of the Board of Directors of both of these organizations for the past two years, I have become intimately familiar with the dedication and time it requires to support organizations that are run solely by volunteer boards. Organizations that do not have paid staff are directly dependent upon their active members (board and general) to make every detail happen. A variety of skills can be useful to organizations: e-mail marketing, website development and management, grant writing, budgeting, event planning, membership data management, strategic planning… the list goes on and on! I’ve realized strengths I didn’t even know that I have through my work on these volunteer boards and I continuously gain the opportunity to gain experiences in new skill areas.
One might think, “What’s in it for me? I have the job I want, why spend my limited free time doing the same thing I do all day?” And while I do, admittedly, struggle to achieve balance in my life, there are a multitude of reasons why I continue to choose to serve. In respect to both MEEA and NEEEA, these are two organizations that help to promote the field of environmental education (a good thing if I want to continue to be employed) and provide me with opportunities for professional development. In addition, connecting with other environmental education professionals provides me the opportunity to stay abreast of advances and resources in my field in a much shorter time frame than it would take if I monitored or researched these issues on my own. Also, I am able to network with other professionals, introducing myself and the Friends to individuals throughout the state and the region. Lastly, I am challenged to develop skills that broaden my skill base and in turn, benefit my organization.
The two reasons I most frequently hear from people who feel they cannot get more involved in an organization are time and that they do not have any knowledge or skills to contribute. I’m not sure I have an argument for lack of time – they are probably more balanced individuals than I am. But regarding something to contribute I argue that the most important trait of a professional volunteer is willingness. Willingness to become involved and put forth the effort to further the mission of the organization, willingness to share the skills you already possess, and willingness to face the challenge to develop skills that you don’t.
I am constantly reminded of a phrase I gleaned from the website of a nature center in Hawaii: “Komo maikau mapuna hoe” “Dip your paddle in” ~ Join in the effort!
So yes, I choose to continue to “dip my paddle in” and I am proud to be a “professional volunteer”!
Tamara Whitmore is the Education Director at Friends of the Cobbossee Watershed and Board Member, Maine Environmental Education Association, Board Member and incoming Treasurer, New England Environmental Education Alliance Committee Member, Southern Maine Children’s Water Festival Planning Committee Committee Member, Gardiner Conservation Committee, and a guest blogger!
