ROI on Service
4 amazing personal returns
By Rose Castillo Guilbault

Volunteering may be the best career move you make. Maybe that’s why more than one thousand CEOs from around the globe named Corporate Social Responsibility one of the Top 5 issues facing the enterprise of the future (IBM Global CEO Study, 2008). Today, fully 66% of college graduates say they will not work for a company with a poor reputation for social responsibility (Sanders, Saving the World at Work, 2008).

Every year, authors Milton Moskowitz and Robert Levering name the 100 Best Companies to Work for in America (Fortune, January, 2009) and those who make that list are known as much for their community involvement as for their stock options and growth.

AAA Northern California, Nevada & Utah, the company where I am proud to work, was honored in 2007 with the Points of Light Award, the highest award for service given by the Points of Light Foundation. The award was a tribute to AAA employees who donate their time to worthy causes within their communities. Our AAA club even gives its employees three days a year of paid time off to volunteer. Board service, traffic safety education and environmental awareness programs top the list.

Well, you may be asking, that may be good for companies, but how is volunteering good for me, personally? As a lifelong volunteer, serving on university, community and business boards, there are four invaluable rewards I find in the course of service:

1. Networking with people you might not otherwise meet.

Let me give you some examples. As Chair of the Commonwealth Club of California, I have had innumerable opportunities to meet and have conversations with an array of leaders including former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, King Abdullah of Jordan, Jack Welch, former CEO of General Electric, and I even had the opportunity to have lunch with my childhood idol, former CBS anchorman Walter Cronkite. Additionally, by serving on a variety of Commonwealth Club committees over the years, I’ve been able to work and learn from other executives from major Northern California corporations who share their expertise with the club.

2. Gaining extraordinary skills and opportunities not offered at work.

Regardless of age or experience, as a volunteer, you can try out new jobs and learn new skills that might not otherwise be afforded you in your job role. Even young professionals can get the chance to run committees, organize events, review budgets, fundraise and develop strategic plans.

3. Developing leadership.

Whether or not you’ve ever managed a team before, you may be given the opportunity to do so as a volunteer. Chairing finance, membership, marketing, fundraising and nominating committees has provided me exposure into areas that are not part of my everyday work portfolio. Developing new strategies and organizing volunteer teams to execute them can be very rewarding.

4. Feeling good by doing good.

There is no greater fulfillment than the satisfaction of helping others realize and attain their own potential. In one of my volunteer experiences, working with under-represented minorities to help them complete their college degrees by securing scholarships was personally inspiring.

President Barack Obama declared Martin Luther King Jr.’s holiday a National Day of Service and set an example by painting a homeless shelter and visiting wounded troops at Walter Reed Medical Center. Dr. King said it best, “Everyone has the power for greatness, not fame, but greatness because greatness is determined by service.”

As seen in this issue of Connections magazine:

Rose Castillo Guilbault

Click here to order PDF reprints of this article