Mandatory Volunteerism
Posted by Lisa Hendey in Faith on Friday, July 10, 2009 10:19 AM
My fourteen year old Adam’s halo is shining brightly today. He spent the first three days of this week on our parish’s immersion “mission” serving the homeless in downtown Fresno. Adam and about nine other high school students joined our Youth Director Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday at our local shelter. In the morning, they performed food service duties and other manual jobs at the shelter. In the afternoons, they put on a “retreat” of sorts for the adolescents and teens of the shelter’s families.
Volunteering for this Mission wasn’t Adam’s idea. He spent a bit too much time last week on the couch and in front of screens for my tastes, so I volunteered him to attend. He went - with a great attitude - and definitely benefited from the experience. But I wonder if I sent the wrong message by pretty much forcing him into the service.
At our parish school and in our Confirmation program, the students are required to perform a certain number of compulsory “service hours”. The guidelines for these are very broad. Anything from babysitting your younger siblings to serving at Mass “counts”. The requirement is not burdensome by any means, but somehow it seems there are always kids running around at the last moment, trying to get hours of service in and get the forms completed.
I grew up in a family where volunteerism was modeled by my parents. I never had “required” service duties, but have loved volunteering in a variety of capacities over the years. A big part of me believes that the true desire to serve needs to come from one’s heart, not be required as a bureaucratic stipulation for a grade or to receive a Sacrament. But with as busy as our kids are these days, if we didn’t require volunteer experiences, would our young ones manage to find the time to donate their skills and abilities for great causes?
As usual, I don’t have a definitive answer to this question but come to you for your thoughts and perspectives. Do you and/or your children serve in volunteer capacities? Is this “required” by their school or your parish? How can we foster in our children a true desire to live out the Corporal Works of Mercy in serving others?
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