Any volunteers please step forward.

Question - Is it really a sacrifice if you aren't giving up something?



Somebody get a fire extingusher. Major burnout. I feel like I'm going a little crazy. If it isn't a Boy Scout event, it's a Church Youth event, or a band concert, or a middle school choir concert, or a recital or a graduation or a.............................aaaaaaaaaaaaaghhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.



I would really like a vacation from it all for a while. But I can't see where. Some say I'm involved in too much, maybe? It would be easy from a selfish stand point to just say the heck with some of it. I quit! You kids, get someone else to take you camping. Get someone else to teach you how to be responsible, have some compassion. I don't need to go to that concert, I've heard that song a 1000 times already! Instead I'm gonna go fishing and boating and partying with my friends......



But I don't. See there is another side to this story. Somebody has got to stand up and do it. Be responsible. Set an example. Make a difference. I can't tell you how many people with issues I've worked with over the years. Kids from patched up families, Mom and Dad divorced, bitter, arguing. Single Moms trying to get their kids (especially boys) exposed frequently with some decent adult male role models. ADHD Kids. Adults with disabilities. Or poor families just looking for a hand with dinner or a ride somewhere.



And there is this responsibility thing as a parent. Being there when they finally play in front of the big audience. When they are confirmed at church. At graduations, or the big game. Showing your interest and being proud of their accomplishments.



You just gotta step up, make that sacrifice, be responsible. And don't take this blog wrong. I enjoy doing most of it, the overwhelming majority of these things. It just that there is so much...



I see a disturbing trend. Apathy seems to be on the rise. Less and less people are finding it convenient to volunteer. It doesn't fit into their schedule. They have other plans. It makes it harder and harder for those of us who do volunteer. Fewer, trying to do more. Get a lot of drop and run if you are a volunteer working with youth. "Here are my kids, I'm off, call me when I have to pick them up!". You want to holler "HEY, they are your kids, why don't you spend time with them!" But that is the problem, they aren't and the kids are caught in the middle.

So I keep volunteering, showing up, going to that concert or recital. And it's tough when my adult friends are headed to a party or an adult get away weekend. "Wish you were going with us." they say. Yeah so do I alot of times.

I just wish that some of the organizations that I volunteer in, Boy Scouts, Church Youth Groups, etc. took time to really give there volunteer staff support. Help take care of their needs, keep them from burning out. Somebody has got to step up.... Any volunteers?