I want positive input how we as a community can help our Reservists and Guards.
What are your ideas? I assume the briefing was held as you noted in your original post. Were volunteers present? What were some of their suggestions?
Speaking as someone who does volunteer work I can offer that people need to be presented with concrete ways and suggestions that they can help. Don’t ask average people to come up with ideas because they won’t. However, some of those people WILL help if a bunch of ways are laid out before them and just one touches a chord that speaks to them.
People are funny creatures. Most everyone has one or more “causes” that are important to them but within each of those groups only a very small percentage will actually do something to make a difference. People talk about wanting to help but when it comes down to the real work they’re always too busy, too tired, too overhwhelmed with their own problems and issues. You can’t make people volunteer to help with a cause. Guilt doesn’t work. Nagging doesn’t work. Repetition doesn’t work.
The only thing that does work is when an issue or need is personal on some level...when it touches someone in such a way that they don’t help because someone asks them to but because they are compelled to. They feel so strongly about a cause that there is an almost tangible need to do something. And that’s when an observer becomes a volunteer.
I’d like to see you or your volunteer group say this: These are the ways we as a community can help our reservists and guards, and then list all your ideas, functions, ways to contribute by correspondence, gift packages, getting children involved...I don’t know what all y’all have discussed, but get all the possibilities out there, clearly spelled out. Lots of folks aren’t imaginative on their own but WILL help if a specific idea appeals to them.
That said though, I think it’s important to remember that people as a whole are pretty self-absorbed. For every person who volunteers their time to help or support a cause there are dozens more who truly DO believe in the same cause but will never do anything more than share their concern. And that doesn’t make them bad people or uncaring or thoughtless. It just makes them human.
-nab
