It Doesn't Always Go As Planned

I was reminded this morning that things don’t always goes as planned or how we want them to go. This is especially true when volunteering. 

I had breakfast with the group of retired guys that volunteer for NeighborLink twice a week. They have about 20 projects always going on at the same time and 15 of those seem to be in a state of uncertainty or planning due to the recipient. Reasons range from tasks given to them by the volunteer teams to complete before they can do the work to the recipient not wanting to disturb their sleeping children at 9am in the morning. 

These guys were asking me what I would do with a couple of projects that are pending. One of the projects, the family has scheduled and cancelled on them three times in the past couple of weeks primarily due to the fact the family doesn’t want to wake their son up at 9am, when the team works. However, this family really needs to have the doorway of the son’s room widened so it’s easier for the wheelchair bound son to get in and out of his bedroom.

There are naturally quite a few things at play in this situation. The volunteers have the skills and willingness to help, but they have a set timeframe of which they work. They work every Tuesday and Thursday from 9a - Noon or so. The family has a son that needs extra attention due to his disability and are unwilling to disturb him in order to get the project done they requested help for and need done.

It’s a complicated world out there that requires sensitivity, patience, tough love, and an ocean sized amount of Grace. Most of these are hard to come by when there is a task involved, which is seen as just another transaction that has to take place in life. We want what we want and they want what they want. Who’s going to win? 

At NeighborLink we care deeply about relationships more than we care about projects and this leads us to care more about the development of the people involved over just doing what we’re asked to do. In this situation, I encouraged this group of volunteers to set some parameters with the family and give them a choice. They can either choose to be inconvenienced for a short period of time and get the help they need or they can choose to wait on another group of volunteers who can better fit they’re schedule. 

The former gets the project done sooner and allows the family to enjoy the benefits of increased mobility and quality of life they desire. Plus, they get a great group of volunteers to help them out. 

The latter puts them back into the NeighborLink list where there is uncertainty that any other volunteers will select their project. 

Truly engaging the community with a development mindset definitely doesn’t always go as planned and is always messy, which is the very reason why more people don’t do it. 

The challenge we face is getting more of our volunteers to choose development mindsets and be ready for the mess. 

I’d love to hear your story of how a volunteer project didn’t go as planned. Please leave a comment if you have one you’d like to share.