Op-Ed: Volunteering — A Gentle Nudge
By Michael Goldenkranz
At my curmudgeonly age and stage, I find myself in constant conversations about health and retirement. Friends, family members, acquaintances, strangers at social gatherings: everybody seems to be talking about what comes next. It’s really no different from younger lawyers talking about careers, daycare, schools, and billable hours. We just swap out different anxieties.
And inevitably someone asks: “What will I do if I retire?” Or they confess they’re resisting retirement because they have no idea how they’d fill the time.
That’s usually when I get their contact information and climb onto my soapbox.
For more than two decades, I’ve volunteered almost weekly with KCBA’s Neighborhood Legal Clinics. Truth be told, I probably get at least as much out of it as I hope I provide clients. Over the years I’ve also served on the NLC and Pro Bono Committees, written for bar publications, coached mock court, and generally played the role of resident old man, cheerleader, and occasional pest and humor dispenser at volunteer events.
But what I’ve increasingly discovered is that volunteering itself is only part of the equation.
These days, when someone mentions feeling stuck, isolated, uncertain about retirement, or simply wanting to do something useful, I often send them a lengthy, overly organized memo outlining volunteer opportunities I think they might enjoy or be well suited for, while trying to match skills and interests. Sometimes I’m simply trying to remove the paralysis and fear that can accompany both retirement and volunteering. A just-retired builder developer bud got involved with a guardian ad litem type program. Another pal is now baking bread for those without and driving folks without access to medical appointments. A book group member helps folks at the Bailey Boushay House. My talented retired college bud volunteers as a hospital clown and musician for patients.
Oddly enough, I’ve come to enjoy that process almost as much as the volunteering itself.
Researching opportunities for them feels like a cross between being a lawyer, a career counselor, and a recruiter for good works. And if/when someone actually follows through and finds a place where they feel useful and connected, I sleep a little better.
My point is simple: there are countless opportunities for both attorneys and non-attorneys to help, contribute, and make a difference. Just as important, we have the ability to encourage others — friends, colleagues, family, neighbors — to get involved too. Sometimes all people need is a little brainstorming partner, a nudge, or reassurance that they have something worthwhile to offer. Encourage your children and grandchildren to volunteer at early ages. Maybe even find a project you can share.
For attorneys, legal volunteering opportunities are everywhere: Neighborhood Legal Clinics, pro bono referrals, mentoring younger lawyers, nonprofit boards, housing and immigration advocacy, and countless community organizations desperate for legal guidance.
For non-attorneys, the opportunities are just as broad and meaningful. Legal aid organizations need intake volunteers and schedulers. Immigration advocacy groups often need hands-on assistance from nonlawyers. Schools need tutors and homework helpers. I spent time as a library homework volunteer and helped with a mock court for middle and high schoolers. Food banks, faith organizations, and nonprofits always need willing hands. Baking bread for those without is cathartic and available. Our children and grandkids recreational sports teams are always looking for coaches and organizers.
And for those unsure where to start, organizations like United Way and VolunteerMatch make it remarkably easy to match interests, skills, and schedules with real community needs. The City of Seattle and King County also offer extensive volunteer opportunities, both indoors and outdoors.
My oldest precocious grandkid asked me recently: “Grandpa, why did you retire, and why do you still continue to volunteer now — when you’re ancient?”
I told him frankly I was worried. Concerned that if I had stayed in private practice any longer, the grim reaper would snatch me up way too early. “Why?” he asked, with obvious concern. Because he’d tally up my mandatory and overtime billable hours and think I was already well past 100.
Relieved, he rolled his eyes and giggled at another one of my bad grandad jokes. And I shared an oft-quoted teaching from Ethics of the Fathers that has always stayed with me:
“It is not your duty to finish the work, but neither are you at liberty to neglect it.”
So if I seem like a volunteer ambassador on steroids, so be it. Your turn!
Michael B. Goldenkranz is retired but serves as his neighborhood’s full-time curmudgeon and pro bono volunteer; his current ‘practice’ is being the silliest grandpa ever.
