Collegian Staff Photo

Did anyone notice the Community Service Opportunities Fair in front of the bookstore on Wednesday? Dozens of nonprofit organizations set up camp under white canopies, attracting potential recruits with ice cream and eye-catching displays.

For many students, volunteerism is an old hat. It’s hard to escape grade school without participating in some form of service, even if it’s as simple as a car wash fundraiser.

Individual motives for volunteering are diverse, ranging from mandatory requirements of parents or school programs to the warm and fuzzy feeling you get while serving to the desire to feel needed.

In the case of the volunteers for Big Brothers Big Sisters who attended Marist College in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., one motivation is a discount in tuition. These students get a 25 percent discount in fees when they volunteer with the mentoring program.

While these reasons motivate many volunteers to action, it’s no secret that those who serve out of compulsion or a desire to boost their resume may become disillusioned with charitable causes more frequently than their altruistic counterparts.

Too often those who engage in service shortchange themselves of the intangible benefits of volunteerism without even knowing it. The first warning sign is when service becomes more task-oriented than people-oriented. The task is often a great goal in and of itself, but when it becomes the end rather than the means, cynicism sets in.

Keeping an others-focused motive is hard in volunteer positions that don’t offer a chance to see an impact on people’s lives. Many integral service positions such as office work or logistics are removed from one-on-one interaction.

A July 2010 New York Times article (“The Benefits of Volunteerism, if the Service Is Real”) cited an unpublished study supporting the common need for interaction with those needing help. In the study student volunteers expected to help others, but were assigned mundane tasks. As a result, they lost interest in the service project.

To be fair, it’s difficult to take the motivational high road while serving. I’ve wrestled with charitable motives in my own life. Even though I have had the best intentions, my past volunteer experiences have sometimes been plagued with feelings of superiority, smugness and cynicism over the real impact of my work. I didn’t recognize these ugly patterns until recently.

Does it really matter what the motives are as long as people volunteer? As long as the work gets done, the homeless are clothed and fed and the environment is cared for, shouldn’t that be enough?

The answer to those questions is yes. Those outcomes can be, and very often are, enough. However, when volunteers serve from the heart, there is a hidden benefit, a change inside. The work becomes less about an individual goal, be it the pursuit of a career, friendship or recognition, and more about a broader vision of service. The shift can be subtle or dramatic, but when it occurs one ultimate goal comes into focus””not only the benefit of others, but a deeper understanding of those vastly different from us.

The change occurred for me a few weeks ago when I was sitting across from an elderly Nicaraguan man helping him select a pair of reading glasses. As he told me about his life, I realized that instead of me serving him, he was serving me. I realized then that my concept of traveling to help the “poor” Nicaraguans was fraught with superiority. Yes, I was offering him improved vision. In return, however, he offered me a clearer look into his life of difficulty that I could barely understand. I felt privileged to even converse with him.

If you have yet to experience the gift of service, give it a try. If you let it, it will change your life.