Why Not Keep a 2010 Volunteer Diary?

If volunteering is one of your New Year's Resolutions, why not keep a volunteer diary to record your stories, feelings, and thoughts throughout the year?   Your diary could be written in a journal that you make or buy, or shared online on a blog.

For example, as a tribute to her grandfather, Raegan Payne committed to volunteer for 50 organizations before 2010, and to write about each experience. Last month she wrote about six volunteer experiences on her blog, The Good Muse:

• My Volunteer Journal: Episode 50 - The Hair Cut
• My Volunteer Journal: Episode 49 - Thoughts of a Salvation Army Bell Ringer
• My Volunteer Journal: Episode 48 - Promote The Wellness Community's Cancer Fight
• My Volunteer Journal: Episode 47 - Lake Arrowhead Reps Work Day
• My Volunteer Journal: Episode 46 - A Bake Sale. Finally
• My Volunteer Journal: Episode 45 - I Couldn't Run the 5k so I'm Punished

Your volunteer diary is a place for you to write about all of the feelings that come up while volunteering.  If you are volunteering in a difficult, or stressful environment, your volunteer diary is a safe place to vent your frustrations after a challenging day.  If you finish your volunteer opportunity feeling inspired and full of great stories, it's a place to capture those moments too.

If you'd like to share your reflections with others, see if the nonprofit you are working with would like to publish your writing in their newsletter, or on their blog.  For example, Hannah's Socks (a nonprofit that gives new socks to people in need)  publishes a series of blog posts called Volunteer Diary by one of their volunteers, Lisa.  Her stories are also published in their newsletter.

You can also share your volunteering stories in the comments of this blog, on the WE Volunteer Facebook page, and when you log your volunteer hours on match.wevolunteer.tv.   Who knows, we might even take your story and feature it on the Share Your Story page!