Opinion: Volunteerism results in lifelong friendships
MICHELLE DeCLERCK Oct 11, 2015 | 1:00 pm
2 min read time
497 wordsAll Latest News, Arts and Culture, Lift IOWAEditor’s Note: This piece by Michelle DeClerck is the sixth in a seven-part series focusing on the importance of community involvement and volunteering for women to grow both professionally and personally. Parts one, two, three, four and five are all available online.
About five years ago I hired a national speaker for one of my clients’ incentive trips. As I peeked in on the general session, one of his opening lines stuck with me. He commented on how lucky we are to be thought of in a positive light that someone would consider us for a volunteer opportunity.
The issue comes down to who has time to volunteer.
I came up with my own perspective on volunteerism: What if we never got asked to volunteer? How detrimental would that be for each of us on a personal level? How many of your closest friends would you not know if you never put down the TV remote or stepped outside your comfort zone by saying yes to a volunteer opportunity?
Two years ago, when we outgrew our office space at CEM, I oversaw building out a new office. As this was a new experience, I reached out for some expertise (and volunteers). My lease expert was a Valley High School show choir volunteer I became friends with the year before. The moving team I entrusted to hand-carry my personal items were volunteers from Opportunity on Deck. Our building’s open house was planned by an intern I met volunteering with our church’s children’s youth programming.
These are just a few examples of how relationships gained from personal volunteer efforts have helped me in business.
I don’t recommend you volunteer under the sole premise of how it benefits you or your business. Think, rather, of the interesting people you will meet. Through volunteer efforts and your leadership on those committees, you’ll intrinsically benefit and end up with lifelong friends, which ultimately enhances your well-being.
Michelle DeClerck, a certified meeting planner, founded Conference Event Management and Financial Speakers Bureau, a woman-owned business enterprise and provider of event, conference, incentive travel and meeting experiences.
DeClerck is involved with both the Iowa Women’s Leadership Connection and the National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO) Iowa. She is working to involve college students with the Iowa Women’s Leadership Connection, and NAWBO has recognized her as one of its Woman Business Owners of the Year. She enjoys speaking on female leadership, business ownership and mentoring, and is addicted to self-help business books. DeClerck can be reached at Michelle@myCEM.com.
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