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Just curious is anyone would like to share their service efforts outside of the COJCOLDS (Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints). Turning toward the community can be a viable way to spend your service hours when the traditional church experience is not enough or has gotten to you in some way.
I am curious to know what everyone is doing in this regard, if any.
One of the callings that I had in the LDS church was Scout Master. I felt that this was something that I could list on my resume that wouldn’t have potentially adverse reactions that might accompany missionary service or other very religious service efforts. I continued in this capacity until the church cut ties with scouting. My son is on the autism spectrum and began participating in the Special Olympics. They, like most organizations, are constantly starved for volunteers. I became an assistant coach and even acted as head coach a few years ago while the usual head coach underwent surgery (fortunately, I was able to return to my assistant coach role).
I applied for an appointment to a seat on my town’s city council. I was not selected but I feel that my willingness to serve and giving the selection committee choices is part of my civic duty.
The mayor recommended me for the town’s development commission advisory board. I now serve as the vice-chair.
When an opening was advertised for a board seat for my son’s charter school recently, I applied and was selected. Time commitment is pretty chill with meetings once a month and on zoom. I want for my son’s school to be as strong and vibrant as it can be.
I have also worked with my children in being involved with community service efforts. My daughter was a longtime chairperson for the library teen advisory board as well as a volunteer cashier for the county historical society. She has been recognized with volunteer awards from the city and the county, and received the President’s Volunteer Service: Gold Award. These experiences have come in handy when applying for employment and college admission/scholarships.
My wife is the treasurer for the local home school association.
Non-LDS service has helped us to put down roots in the community, build professional and extra-curricular resumes, and achieve personal self actualization and fulfillment goals.
I haven’t been able to volunteer as much as I would have liked to or planned to when I was younger. Part of it is logistics – 1 car and living out in the country. Some of it is the season of life my family is in – the introverts in my family don’t have strong community connections and lean on me a fair amount for that. Here is what has worked for me:
A) Volunteer receptionist for a “Free clinic” for the uninsured for a few years.
Mock Interviewer for the Merit America program – I donate a few of my lunches for the program about every 6 weeks when I can.C) Donating Blood – Finding the time and dealing with my body not doing well as well at it these days.
D) Stake Youth Service Activities – I take my daughters to the service activities as it is sustainable.
My wife and I donate to various organizations in town and elsewhere that have a special meaning for our family. Thanks for sharing those experiences. I didn’t know you were so involved Roy! I enjoyed reading the other responses. One thing I noticed in my last 10 years of community service:
1. In some contexts, LDS people are more committed to above-board interpersonal interactions — less gossiping, more of an interest in relationships and living the code than some of the people in the general local community at large.
2. It’s way easier to get results in the community than in the church. My father-in-law summed up what service in the church is like — it’s like pushing against a rock that won’t move. But we are required to push for the good of our salvation. I found that story depressing, being somewhat of an achiever and careful with where I put my time.
3. There are a lot more kudos to be had at work when you are involved in non-religious service. I was tapped to take on a position of responsibility because apparently I “got noticed” when a non-profit I started ending up with graduate students receiving awards for our organization (“Up and Coming Community Organization” from the mayor, and I received a “Volunteer of the Year” award one year). In my work I received a couple fat bonuses and recognition awards for the 501 (c ) 3 I started on my own dime to give our university’s top notch students real titles (Marketing Manager, Event Manager, Operations Manager) while working with real money, real government organizations, and real world issues and consequences. It was a challenge I put down for myself when I first became a university professor 30 years ago — how I wanted to give students real world experiences working with real money and real consequences. 30 years later I figured out how to do it…
4. There is actually recognition in a lot of community organizations, although in many cases it’s still thankless service like you get in the church. But there seem to be far more efforts to reward and recognize volunteers.
5. In the state where I used to live, there were a lot of religious people who were doing pure community service. So, I often felt like I was rubbing shoulders with church members given these people’s commitment to their religion and living a wholesome life.
6. Community service is way more fun than church service — at least, after you’ve experience church service for many years. I love the fact that I get to pick where I serve, and in many cases, how long. I even get an 8 hour community service day as part of my work benefits, like booking off a personal day or vacation.
I try to apply the concept of co-missioning and get multiple benefits from the service I give. For example, I might volunteer with my kids and build experience and marketable skills for them while also receiving validation and recognition that I crave for self-actualization. Roy wrote:
I try to apply the concept of co-missioning and get multiple benefits from the service I give. For example, I might volunteer with my kids and build experience and marketable skills for them while also receiving validation and recognition that I crave for self-actualization.
I too am in the co-missioning camp. After I decided the church was not a fulfilling place to serve, I went into the community and got immediate kudos from my academic managers for a whole host of experiences:
a) Setting up a Buy Local program.
b) Providing meaningful, real world projects for our university’s students.
c) setting up the 501 (c ) 3 and staffing it with high performing students who worked with real issues and real money.
d) Volunteer of the Year award from the Mayor of the city I was in at the time.
At one point, I was told I got noticed by senior leaders who said I must have leadership skills when the 501 (c ) 3 I started was named Up and Coming Community Organization. This led to a promotion and some other adventures I won’t go into.
Whenever I tried to use my church service in job interviews or even in applications to leadership positions within my company, the reception was cold to lukewarm and didn’t matter.
Yes, we do eternal good in certain callings, but I will take the co-missioned kind of service over church service any day.
SilentDawning wrote:
Whenever I tried to use my church service in job interviews or even in applications to leadership positions within my company, the reception was cold to lukewarm and didn’t matter.
Yes, I did list my missionary service on my resume as a young man to explain the gap of employment if nothing else and it was never seen as a positive. I work in the casino industry and I even had one manager ask me if I would be more comfortable in a non-casino affiliated job. I suppose if I were in Utah and working in a field with lots of members, missionary service could be seen as a positive. I removed my missionary service from my resume as soon as enough time had passed that an early employment gap would not be noticeable.
My daughter was YW president for a few years and that is something that she has put down several times for scholarship applications that ask her to list leadership experience. I do believe that church leadership can be helpful for young people that would not yet have had many opportunities to demonstrate leadership in the community or the workplace.
Our library director just reached out to me for help in trying to get some sort of training for young adults without job experience. She said, “We gotta teach these kids how to sell themselves and how to identify partially related experience [like volunteer work, etc.].”
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