Pay it Forward
Susan Heard SPHR, Past President
People volunteer for a lot of reasons - passion for a cause, to extend a
network, for lines on a resume. Shirley Chisholm said. "Service is the rent you pay for room on this earth." I agree.
Volunteering is a statement of gratitude for all the good fortune to which
we are not entitled. Not volunteering asserts that whatever we have, we earned on our own, without the help or influence or positive example of
others. By that standard, I don't know anyone who shouldn't put in some volunteer time. And, in the same way that Dave Ramsey says spending time
doesn't fulfill the obligation to tithe, I contend that writing a check doesn't fulfill the obligation to expend time and energy paying back.
Since it's usually the case that we can never repay the individual(s) who
gave personal interest, special kindness or wise counsel, volunteering is a way of "paying it forward."
Years ago, as a student at the University of Memphis, I joined the student
chapter of the Society for Personnel Management (as SHRM was known back then). I got to know members of the professional chapter who steered my
interests and answered my questions. They encouraged me to apply for the chapter's scholarship, and I won it - a huge boost to my self-financed
education. Best of all, they helped me find the job opportunity from which my HR career was launched.
When I arrived in Middle Tennessee, I had both a young daughter and a
career to nurture. I was busy with both but I felt the weight of my debt. Getting involved in MT|SHRM was an obvious way in which to pay forward the
gift of the Memphis HR professionals.
Over the years, as I filled various volunteer roles, I began to feel the
weight shifting a bit. As the debts start to diminish, the unexpected rewards began to accumulate: the exhilaration of helping to build and be part
of something bigger than me, the pleasure of friends who remain nearly twenty years later, a supportive network to cushion the blow of job loss.
It's a cliché to say that you get more than you give when you
volunteer, but it's true.
Has someone that you can never repay helped you to arrive where you are
today? Do you need to pay it forward? Today's MT|SHRM offers more ways than ever to get involved.
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