Dear friends,
I spent a day volunteering at the Auckland City Mission last week.
This is the Distribution Centre, where all the donations are brought to be sorted and then redistributed back out to the shops. That mountain of rubbish bags is what we were sorting through and more were being dropped off as fast as we could clear them.
Christmas is the Mission's busiest time of year and it's probably best known for the thousands of gifts and food parcels that go out in December each year, as well as NZ's largest Christmas lunch which hosts around 2000 people. What I've learned is that it's a big and logistically complex operation. The work goes on all year round, including homelessness outreach and support, healthcare for marginalised residents, drug and alcohol detox, emergency food parcels, and the list goes on.
I was with a small group and we were directed to the linen and clothing sorting area. Guess what, it's a really labour intensive task to unpack, sort and carefully inspect clothing and linen. Quality varies hugely and sorting through well worn and stained mens undies was memorable for all the wrong reasons. The Mission, like many charities I imagine, has a growing problem of what it costs them to dispose of the crap that they receive and have to sort through that just isn't reusable.
At this time of year the focus was on getting warm winter clothes and linen out for the shops, for specific orders "e.g large man + boy 5 + boy 7", and "Crisis Care" which is for the homeless people who turn up to the Mission with nothing.
The staff at the distribution centre were friendly, warm hosts which really helped to make the day enjoyable. They took the time to show us around, gave us a good briefing and checked in regularly throughout the day. I applaud them for that, their patience and care, it must be tiring every day directing a labour force of clueless volunteers.
This kind of volunteering was a new experience for me. One I want to repeat regularly, I'm aiming for fortnightly. I've wanted to incorporate some regular volunteer work into my schedule for ages. The science says that the act of service and giving triggers the release of oxytocin in our brains, part of the happiness trifecta of chemicals. Even better news, these brain chemicals counteract cortisol, the dreaded stress horomone.
So, although volunteering consumes your time and energy, this (or any) kind of service gives you back a whole lot in return.
To get away from sitting at a computer, to do some manual work and turn my focus to these imaginary people and their families was sobering but also really energising. In fact, I did a couple of hours of work after I got home and it was probably the most productive I'd been all week. What is that about?? Interesting eh.
For most of us, our weekends are family time and so we wonder how to fit this kind of extra commitment into a busy schedule. Being able to incorporate this experience into my usual work week is what's important to me. I'm self employed now so it's easier, but I challenge you to think about how you could do the same. Consider the time to be an investment in both your wellbeing and your community. Can you think of a better reason?!.
If you are interested in going as a group (3 - 20 people) I highly recommend it. I even reckon this would be good team building activity. The centre is easy to get to and there's a carpark next door ($10 a day). Details of who to contact on the website.
I'm interested: does your employer offer you paid charity days? If they do, how do you use them?