Sarah Mawhorter is a volunteer graphic designer for the IHF. She has designed, among other things, JustApparel.org and the IHF’s 2008 and 2009 Catalogs for Change.
I recently became a graduate student, and my life became (if it’s even possible) busier than when I had a full-time job. I seriously considered cutting out my work for the IHF. For a moment. Volunteering means giving, and often giving up, but I volunteer very selfishly. I feel a tinge of shame accepting thanks for my work, because I know I’m not making the sacrifice that generally accompanies volunteering. The IHF gives me more than I give it, and not in some wishy-washy esoteric way.
The IHF brings me comradeship with a woman I’ve met on only three occasions, someone who gets up every day and works constantly so that women in Guatemala can support their families under fair labor standards (one of Heidi’s many goals). We can only be glad that she doesn’t follow the same labor standards she champions. Our friendship has grown out of hard work, and I would hazard that we trust each other more than friends who have spent years in the same place.What’s more, I’ve found it freeing to work for free. The only thing that matters is the results, not what someone else thinks of my work. I can be adventurous, I can make mistakes, I can be exactly who I am with all my talents and deficiencies, and I’m still the best person for the job because I’m doing it. In this aspect of my life, I always measure up, and no one else measures me.
Incidentally, this is one of the drawbacks of volunteers: we’re notoriously difficult to manage. I am just now not-quite-meeting a deadline for the design of the IHF catalog (coming soon!). Tomorrow morning I’m definitely not going to go feed the homeless in downtown Los Angeles at 5:45 am, and I don’t feel much compunction. You see, the more responsibility I have for results, the easier it is for me to meet those ‘optional’ deadlines. The IHF is brilliantly set up to delegate real responsibility rather than merely offer pre-packaged, simplified activities.The IHF gives me true friendship, fun design and writing work, and the feeling that I am good at what I do. It’s the type of thing I might do regardless of its purpose.
I’m also highly separated from the purpose and the people I am supporting. I don’t speak their languages, and in most cases I’ve never crossed paths with them. The work I do supports the people who support the people in the field. Consequently, I don’t have many of the traditional satisfactions of those volunteering in developing nations; I am the opposite of the ‘volunteer tourist’. Another trip to Guatemala is definitely in store for me, but realistically I can be more useful from my computer in Los Angeles than in Santiago Atitlan.Still, the only reason that I am still spending my time with the IHF is the reality of people in need, the reality of the problems they face.
To me, the IHF is distinguished by how realistically it confronts the world. I don’t have a personal connection with the people I’m supporting, and that’s just fine. What I do have is time and the resources to be of service, and a job that needs to be done.I’m curious about other volunteers’ experiences with the IHF. What unexpected aspects make it worth your time? If you’re not an IHF volunteer, what types of work might make you happy, and what have been some of your best experiences volunteering for other organizations?
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