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Reaching Out: Giving back to the society through service
Kishore (September 2004) Most of us feel an urge to give back to the society in one way or the other and make a difference. We may feel inspired by different motives at different times. Following are my thoughts on the stages we go through in Reaching Out. Stage 1: Do not have any interest in service activities. This happens when one is still struggling with one's own needs. A person who is hungry will have no interest in feeding another. Majority of people will be still in this category. At this time it is also possible that people will have a negative attitude to service activities. A person who is hungry may criticize service activities directed towards education. Understanding this stage is important for service minded people as well as those who are not interested in service activities. Service minded people will find it difficult how some persons can understand their cause which seems so simple and straightforward. Stage 2: Have interest in service activities, but no personal involvement There are many people who share the cause but do not want to get personally involved. They are people who will contribute to the cause in monetary ways and be satisfied with their contribution. It happens mostly because they have just come of stage 1 and need to enjoy benefits of having crossed stage 1. They will be mere spectators of service activities and stay there. Stage 3: A little personal involvement in service activities This is the next stage, where people now feel that they need to get personally involved in service activities. They are volunteers who work when they find time. However, people will still be in their comfort zone and lead their other lives. They allocate some of their time and use their existing skills to make a difference. It can be a contribution of their time, an effort to spread the cause continuously. Stage 4: Service is their life This is stage where people live for the cause. They are transformed by some incident and some deeper understanding of the cause that they are now ready to give up their personal lives and live for the cause. Summary Understanding stages in service is important for individuals so that they can tune their thoughts accordingly and avoid getting into negative traps. It is also important for service organizations to understand these stages so that they can manage volunteers and patrons they have. It is also important to understand that people can toggle between stages either up or down at different times. My Personal efforts in Reaching Out I have personally gone through Stages 1 through 3 described above. Before I started earning on my own I was in Stage 1. After I started earning I decided to give a small percentage of my earnings to service activities. At that time I was in Stage 2. Now I have started being in stage 2 as well as stage 3. I spend sometime volunteering and enabling service activities. I also contribute to organizations that are doing service activities. Following is a list of organizations I keep track of Stage 2: Stage 3: |