Civic Project Objective: Fulfilling Course

¶ … Civic Project Objective: Fulfilling Course Objectives 2 &

The focus of my civic project will be that of volunteering at a blood bank and assisting with the process of orienting the donors, helping them physically recover after they have donated blood, and making them comfortable afterwards, including ensuring that they have enough food and accommodations to lie down after the procedure. I feel that this is a worthwhile project, given that blood bank reserves have dropped in my area. I feel this is a way that I can help out and perhaps encourage my friends who are capable of donating blood to assist in the effort. I also think the experience will be particularly instructive because it not only enables me to act as a volunteer myself, but to work with other volunteers and explore what motivates people to 'give of themselves.'

Over the course of the readings, I was particularly struck with Robert Putnam's Bowling Alone, and his idea that American civic engagement and a sense of involvement with the community had ebbed away. This sense of responsibility to others often conflicts with the American spirit of independence. Yet as noted by Alexander de Tocqueville, capitalist, American self-interest is often counteracted by American's love of forming voluntary associations. This stands in contrast to becoming part of centralized bureaucratic institutions, in contrast to the government and religious structures of Europe in the author's native France. Thus, for the purposes of my project, as well as attempting to see if voluntary and active participation was necessary for a meaningful life, I am also curious to explore Course Objective 2 and the idea of the social, political, and moral contributions of America's Judeo-Christian inheritance where a moral tradition is seen as relevant and necessary to motivate individuals to deal with contemporary challenges. I wish to examine people's reasons for volunteering and to engage in self-exploration as to what benefits I accrue and to see what brings individuals to become volunteers.

Week 1 great deal of this week was spent 'learning the ropes' and was very similar to other professional, entry-level jobs I have had in the past -- only less intellectually challenging. I admit that rather than deriving personal and emotional benefits from my tasks this week, I found myself much more concerned with simply doing a good job. For example, one of the donors felt faint after donating, and I had to be particularly aware and alert to catch her fall. Some people donating blood seemed relatively unaffected, physically, by the process of donating blood while other people needed more assistance afterward and even beforehand, if they were frightened of needles. I was very impressed by people who overcame their fears to donate blood, as well as those who donated regularly and had not fear. (Fortunately, I am not afraid of needles!)

Week 2 have discovered that people donate blood for a variety of reasons. Some of people donate blood because they seem to have a temperament and a nature that is very altruistic, and they participate in many other, similar efforts in other spheres of their life. Others donate because they feel they have a responsibility to do so, even if the obligation is a voluntary one, given that they had benefited from the contribution of other blood donors when they were seriously injured. This seems to echo the need for a moral as well as a legal foundation for American democracy to function, in terms of maintaining the health of its people. Other donors were not so altruistic, saying that they were allowed to take time off of work or school to donate blood. However, they said that even though their motivations were not entirely lacking in self-interest, this still meant that they felt donating blood was a 'good thing' and they were always glad they had done it. Many of them said that as long as they could remember, they had participated in blood drives at school or at work, and regarded donation as a regular event or part of the year. (They also joked that the cookies and juice were a nice bonus!)

It was interesting to see how volunteering is not necessarily a moral activity in many people's minds, but what Putnam might call a civic rite, much like becoming a member of the PTA or agreeing to become part of a fundraiser for an activity. If everybody is 'doing it,' people seem more likely to participate. Rather than iconoclasm, volunteering seems to be motivated, more than we as Americans might like to admit it, by a spirit of conformity or at least to be seen as not deviating from the moral norm. Sometimes, the more that we are watched, socially, the better we behave (of course, the reverse is sometimes true as well, if everyone is behaving badly, then we are more likely to go on with the crowd, given that we are human, social animals).

Week 3

Over the course of this week, I have gotten to know the people who regularly worked at the blood bank better. This week offered me more insight upon the spirit of altruism, given the careers these healthcare providers had selected. Many of them said that they had been motivated to choose a career in healthcare, because they wanted a real, concrete sense that their vocation of choice could make a difference in people's lives.

A number of them offered me insight about the nature of voluntary service when they made comments on some of the behavior patterns they had observed in individuals over the course of their time working at the blood bank. For example, they noted after 9/11, there was a rush of donors who wanted to give blood, almost too many for the resources of the bank to handle. There was also a large influx of people like myself who volunteered at the bank, all of whom said that they wanted to do something or to give something back to their communities. Many of these people began to volunteer less frequently, however, after the initial impetus to volunteer began to ebb away Week 4

During this week, I seemed to draw a number of personal responses from people regarding the nature of donating blood and volunteering in general. My friends asked me questions about volunteering, and inquired if I found it as fulfilling as working for pay. I said I liked the people I worked with and had learned a great deal from their example, which was true. I did note that sometimes the work could be monotonous, however, and although I knew that I was doing 'good work' it did not always feel that meaningful at the time I was doing it, like serving cookies or walking with people to show them the room where they could rest.

Sometimes, during slow periods, it felt more like socializing, other times leading people to the recovery room, getting them snacks, and chatting with them felt more routine than the type of meaningful social engagement idealized in the words of Putnam or de Tocqueville.