Part 2/5 in the Meaningful Life series
Want a meaningful life without kids? Volunteer.
For those looking to build a fulfilling life without kids, volunteering your time is vital. If volunteering doesn’t sound like your thing, remember that there’s more to it than soup kitchens and dog walking (both of which are incredibly helpful, by the way). Trust me when I say there’s a rewarding volunteer opportunity out there for you.
When you volunteer, you:
- Connect to your community (local or interest-based)
- Help to build a relationship, program, or tangible item/area
- Take pride in your work
These three things are vital in creating any type of worthwhile life, including a life without kids.
How I Became a Volunteering Believer
My high school experiences with volunteering were disappointing. My classmates and I would all carpool over to someplace, do a minimal amount of work (such as sealing a stack of envelopes), and then go back to school. It seemed like a highly inefficient process to me, and led me to believe that volunteering was just a way for people to feel like they were doing good without getting much accomplished.
However, when I began taking college classes, I had a completely different experience. The lab portion of a GenEd biology course took place at the local park/wildlife preserve. Our goal was to create a set of retention ponds in an area of Florida experiencing rapid expansion. The ponds would provide a new, safe ecosystem for animals. It sounded dull… but it was incredible.
My class of 20 or so students visited the newly-dug retention ponds on a weekly basis: Some of the work we did included:
- Taking water samples
- Donning rubber coveralls to wade into the pond and plant duckweed
- Teaching middle school students about conservation
I was tanned, sore, tired, and smelled like pond water at the end of each day. And it was amazing. Afterward, every time I drove past the park, I felt a sense of pride, because I’d actually done legit work to create those ponds.
I realize now that as a high schooler, my volunteer experiences were meant to introduce me to the idea of volunteering in a way that didn’t require my parents to sign a liability waiver. As an adult, I can now do work that has a real, positive impact on those around me.
How to Start Volunteering
So what can you do? Volunteer in your community or in front of your computer in one of these three ways.
1. Find or start a community project
Create the Good has a library of resources about starting your own volunteering efforts. You can clean a river or for something less intense and more long-term, start a community garden.
2. Start your own independent volunteer project
Singer, songwriter, and activist Zoe Boekbinder (incidentally a single, childfree woman) started the Prison Music Project. The project connects prisoners to music, helping lower recidivism and improve conditions. One woman started this project. You could do just as much.
3. Do what you can, when you can
If you’d like to leave the house but not have to fill out any forms or commit to being anywhere at a certain time, you can improve your community by simply picking up litter. Get a pair of gloves, a trash bag, and go. Your community will probably never thank you for it, but you’re doing this for personal fulfillment, not praise.
You can also do small works wherever you are through resources like helpfromhome.org.
How Are You Volunteering?
There are so many ways to turn what you love into something that contributes to the community. Helping others is one way you can create meaning in your life without kids.
How are you volunteering your time? Let the childfree community know by sharing your experience in the comments below.
Next up in the series: Part 3/5 – Learn and Teach.
All images are provided by Kaboompics.
