Volunteer Works: The Lifeblood Of Every Nonprofit

By Danita Brisson

Welcome to our new column dedicated to volunteers, without whom nonprofit organizations could not exist. We will focus on the act of volunteering and the vast unpaid workforce who facilitate and deliver key services that enhance the standard of living for us all. What do they do? Why did they choose their causes? How has volunteering impacted them? We will not feature aggrandizing profiles of the “Volunteer of the Year” that portray philanthropy as a competition, creating more losers than winners.

Our sister column, Charity Works, profiles local groups that provide humanitarian aid including the necessities, and sometimes the niceties of life, to our most disadvantaged citizens.

However, while all charities are nonprofits, not all nonprofits are charities. Some address issues of health, education, religion, active lifestyle, professional development, the environment, and the prevention of cruelty to humans or animals. Because of them, we enjoy rapturous opera, and classical music concerts while local students are exposed to careers in the performing arts. We encounter native flora and fauna on a comfortable stroll through an historic botanical preserve.

We are visited by world-class authors who entertain us with their stories and inspire us to write our own. We and our properties are protected by well-trained and equipped fire fighters and paramedics. The value of that volunteer work bears no relation to its cost. No community, certainly not one the size of San Miguel, could afford to pay the army of staff required to provide that quality of life.   

We will be expanding the Directory of Charities we are compiling to include these groups, so if you are involved with a nonprofit, please contact me by email at 11855e@gmail.com to be featured in that resource as well as this column. The directory and these columns will be available in print and digitally on our website.

Volunteering is a fulfilling way of life for many expats. Is it for you? Our community’s needs are great, and while no one can do everything, everyone can do something. What can you do?