For yourself, and for the organization you volunteer for, the value of your time is relative. E=mc2 right? Well let's try to make that applicable to our world.
Einstein said that the Energy of an object in Joules is equal to the mass of the object times the speed of light squared.
So let us say that the Energy you have to give to a volunteer position, in HOYDLs (hours outside of your daily life) is equal to the Mass amount of free time you have multiplied by the perCentage of time per week you wish to devote. (We'll just leave out the squared part for now.)
Calculating this isn't as easy as just plugging in numbers. First you have to figure out what those numbers actually are. How much available time do you really have? And why do you want to spend it working for someone else, doesn't your lawn need to be mowed anyway? And how is this fun, aren't we all about the fun?
We all know, it's easier to clean someone else's house than to clean our own. And sometimes it inspires us to go home and do a better job to clean our space. The intrinsic value of volunteering goes far beyond the amount of time spent doing the job. Because more than getting the newsletters folded or the building painted, you are contributing in some small way to building something larger than yourself, a community. A place where people reach out to care for one another and be better than they are.
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