In trying to decide whether or not to apply to volunteer at the Canadian Open golf tournament next week, I asked myself a question most volunteers should: What's in it for me?
Some of you are probably drawing in a big gasp of air to shriek red-faced in anger about how volunteering should be a purely egalitarian exercise of selflessness and giving back and blah blah blah.
Know, however, that even people who oversee volunteer organizations say it's perfectly acceptable if you look at it as a tit-for-tat proposition.
“It doesn't have to be something that's purely altruistic,” says Ruth MacKenzie, president of Volunteer Canada. “It's actually okay to benefit personally from volunteering.”
That can mean expanding your networking opportunities to get ahead at work or, say, scoring free access to golf tournaments rather than pay for the price of admission.
The allure of saving a few bucks is “a huge part of it,” says Ms. MacKenzie. “Here in Ottawa, we've got the Chamber Music Festival and Jazz Fest and the Blues Festival, and lots of people volunteer because they get free passes to the event. That's okay.”
Some 45 per cent of Canadians over the age of 15 do some form of volunteer work, according to Statistics Canada.
While no figures exist on how many of those people do volunteer work for a little something-something on the side, there's no doubt helping out can help your finances.
In the case of the Canadian Open, volunteers have to shell out $60 for a volunteer uniform package. But in return they get free admission to the tournament, a parking pass, a golf shirt and hat as well as a free RCGA golf card membership, a free subscription to Golf Canada Magazine and discounted pricing on eats during the week, among other perks.
Do the math and it's no wonder approximately 1,700 people applied this year for the 1,600 volunteer positions.
Of course, the tournament pales in comparison to what just might be the volunteer gig of the century, the Vancouver Olympics.
According to Allen Vansen, vice-president of workplace operations and integration at VANOC, more than 65,000 people have applied for one of the 25,000 volunteer positions at the Olympics and Paralympics, which start in six months.
While most of those people are offering their time and energy to share in the glories of the Olympics and to “show what Canada's all about,” says Mr. Vansen, there's also the lure of getting to see events gratis.
Each volunteer will be asked to work a minimum of 13 shifts over the course of the 17 days of the Games, with each shift lasting anywhere from 8 to 10 hours. It's quite the commitment, but still a deal for many people, considering tickets to some events can cost thousands of dollars.
“Certainly the opportunity to get into a competition venue … is pretty appealing to people that do volunteer,” says Mr. Vansen.
Then again, there's no guarantee a volunteer will get to see a competition. And those who are lucky enough to be assigned to choice venues may be too busy working to watch the game.
One thing about doing volunteer work to save money that can't be forgotten is that, well, you're stuck working.
Some people, however, have more time than money. Anders Yates, a 27-year-old actor who lives in Montreal, has for more than a decade been volunteering at Fringe festivals across the country, many of which he also performs at, as a way to see free shows.
“It's a great way to give back, but in a far more pragmatic sense certainly the reason why I started volunteering in the first place was because I couldn't afford to go and see all these terrific shows,” he says.
Last week, Mr. Yates was pulling double duty as both volunteer and performer (he's touring Fringe festivals in the sketch-comedy show Uncalled for Presents: Today Is All Your Birthdays ) at the Toronto Fringe Festival. He saw about 12 shows. At the Montreal Fringe Festival earlier this year he watched about 25 without having to drop a dime of his own money.
Offering volunteers the chance to soak up a little theatre for free is a key carrot to dangle, says Janet Musil, festival director of the Victoria Fringe Theatre Festival.
Indeed, one of the best things about volunteering is the chance to combine a personal interest with personal savings.
In my case, it's not like I picked the Canadian Open out of a hat. I love golf and hate paying for stuff.
Jason Dookwah has been volunteering at the Toronto International Film Festival for the past five or six years.
“You get to see the how the film festival works from an entirely different angle,” says Mr. Dookwah, a 32-year-old film buff and engineer. “You get to catch free movies. You even get access to movies that the general public can't see.”
So go ahead, be selfish. Be a volunteer.
