Monday, August 16, 2010

An American Opportunity

John F. Kennedy said, "Ask not what your country can do for you. Ask what you can do for your country".

Get Rich Slowly has featured a five star post by a guest contributor.  The author tells of his experience of two years serving in the Peace Corps.  He makes many excellent points regarding the benefits of the Peace Corps and AmeriCorps.
The story and comments are fascinating and may be exactly the opportunity you or someone you know has been looking for.  Rather than slow down his career development it appears that it has helped his and many others.  In addition, he received a modest income and health benefits for his service.
http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2010/08/15/reader-story-i-quit-my-job-and-joined-the-peace-corps/

You may not be ready, willing or able to commit to two years but there are uncountable opportunities for volunteer work in your community.  Contact your local school, church, or favorite non-profit agency to find where your interest and skills can be best utilized.

The current economic crisis has resulted in 14 million of the most highly trained and educated unemployed workforce that has ever existed.  Big companies are now taking advantage of the situation by requiring a four year degree for even entry level positions.  I have seen ads where they offer a whopping $13.00 per hour if you are picked from the many applicants who have applied.  It is absurd.  By no means am I suggesting that the job search should be abandoned.  However, it is often in the helping of others that our own opportunities are realized.

Imagine the impact that would be achieved if all who were able contributed to the rebuilding of our communities through service or volunteer work in whatever time they have available.  Priceless...

4 comments:

Parag said...

I am so glad that there are people like you. When I was younger I thought that I would want to do something of this nature but the truth is that I have a major mental illness and I fear that I would end up in a state of severe depression/anxiety if I were to disconnect that radically from my home base. As I get older I hope perhaps I will not have to work so much and can do some volunteer work on a more local basis.
Budgeting

Anonymous said...

I quit my job a few months back. It was a strange decision (I had friends around me losing their jobs) but after trying to find a new job with no luck I could not stand working my job one more day. I am about to start my job search and the first thing I'm doing is looking into volunteering. I don't know what I want to do next but I know I want a career change. I hope that by volunteering I can try out several things and maybe get more answers in my career quest.

Carol said...

Parag - I checked out your site and there is a lot of interesting information. The good thing about volunteering is that it can be as local as mowing a disabled persons lawn. There are no boundries to kindness. Thanks for the comments.
Molly-You're bold! And, I have a feeling that your courage will get you exactly where your heart leads.

Parag said...

Thanks Carol for going through my blog. Looking forward for more interesting posts from you.