As all government budgets dictate cutbacks in various programs, volunteerism is key to filling the resulting gaps and voids. Needs are greater than ever. The opportunities to serve as a volunteer leader are vast and varied.
However, volunteering in our communities while trying to balance work and family life can be overwhelming. As a society we are fixated on being wirelessly "plugged in" so we can satisfy our addiction to information. The result is we are robbed of our free time – and our humanity. With our false sense of "busy-ness" we convince ourselves we do not have time to volunteer.
In the midst of all this technology, we are challenged to not let it obscure our need to help each other. As Gandhi taught: "The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others."
Lawyers throughout Arkansas regularly impact their community by volunteering their services and leadership skills to civic organizations, nonprofit boards, churches and neighborhood associations.
Like so many small businesses, the practice of law presents many challenges, and juggling the demands of an increasingly hectic world is perhaps the biggest.
Nevertheless, lawyers have a proud tradition of service to the community and continue to serve today, even when faced with an inbox full of emails, a barrage of texts and clients expecting instant responses.
The Arkansas Bar Association promotes leadership opportunities that will fit into the busy life of lawyers. To help with this endeavor, the association created its Leadership Academy, which provides the tools and confidence to manage leadership opportunities in this fast-paced world. The academy develops leadership qualities in its graduates, thereby encouraging volunteerism and future volunteer leaders.
Like all nonprofit organizations, the Arkansas Bar Association depends on its volunteer leaders to carry out its goals. One such goal is increasing civic education in the classroom. This summer, social studies teachers around the state will attend a Law School for Teachers, a civics education program manned by busy volunteer judges and lawyers.
Volunteer judges and lawyers also make room in their crowded schedules to present civics lessons to high school students. These presentations include showing the DVD "A Level Playing Field," which explains the basics of the American judicial system using sports themes to hold the students’ interests.
It’s been said that "volunteers do not necessarily have the time; they just have the heart." Examine your heart. Decide if you can serve as a volunteer given your busy life. Challenge yourself by adding new leadership opportunities one at time, not all at once. Seek out your passions and find a way to begin to add leadership roles into your schedule one step at a time. Your community needs you. As Emerson wrote, "The only gift is a portion of thyself."
(Charles L. Harwell is a partner with Cypert Crouch Clark & Harwell PLLC in Springdale. He will be sworn in as the 115th president of the Arkansas Bar Association on Friday at the association’s annual meeting, whose theme is volunteerism.)
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