Introducing the Third Job Blog
“The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why.”
Volunteering sure can feel like another job sometimes. You know, the one that comes after your career and your family obligations. The one you get to on lunch breaks, nights and weekends.
Volunteering is the job you have the least amount of time for and the one you’re doing for free. You raised your hand to make a difference and likely ended up taking on more responsibility than you signed up for.
Before you realize it, you’re asked to join the volunteer board. “We only meet once a month”, they say, and pretty soon you have yourself another job.
This job, however, is the one you happen to enjoy the most, and the one that brings you the most fulfillment. Being a volunteer board member gives you the opportunity to leave a legacy behind for your family, your neighbors, and your community.
But only if you have the time for it.
The reality is that life gets in the way. Our careers and obligations tend to dominate our time.
Our first job provides an income, and at its best can drive personal growth and lead to lifelong friendships. But we know it also creates plenty of stress; projects, deadlines, & TPS reports.
Our second job, our commitment to family, brings joy to us through meaningful relationships. But it too can pile up on our list of to-do’s; child care, elder care, grocery shoppping, & endless home maintenance.
The emotional toll of managing both your career and family obligations can create enough stress for a lifetime.
That leads us to our Third Job.
Roughly 76 million selfless Americans volunteer their time every year.
Research shows this brings purpose & fulfillment. The number of people who report to be “very happy” rose 7% among those who volunteer monthly and 12% for people who volunteer every two to four weeks.
And yet, ask any volunteer and you’ll probably hear that familiar line: “This feels like another job.” A typical volunteer board member spends ~10 hours / month volunteering, while the Board Chair spends more like 20 hours / month.
There are only so many hours in a week.
Third Job is a newsletter and blog for people who serve after hours.
Through conversations we’ve had with fellow volunteer board members across the country, we have found common issues and frustrations with volunteer board operations; resource constraints, volunteer turnover, & a non-stop list of tasks to accomplish without any direction on how to complete them.
But we’ve also heard countless stories of overcoming those obstacles with creativity and grit. We’ve found that volunteer board members are more than happy to share their learnings with others going through the same thing. They’ve just had nowhere to share that. Until now.
Introducing The Third Job Blog: We’ll spotlight volunteer board members building real community results and we’ll share the playbooks that aim to reduce the burden and administrative overload of being a volunteer board member.
Our mission is simple:
Tell the stories of volunteer board members making a difference in their community
Share playbooks for helping your volunteer board make a bigger impact
Make volunteering feel less like a third job, and more like an opportunity to leave a legacy that lasts
Please stay tuned and if you would like to share your story, we’d love to hear from you!