People often tell recent graduates to “get involved in your community” or “volunteer for a cause you care about”, and for many I’m sure it can feel like one more thing on top of life’s countless other responsibilities. Get involved? How? Why? Have you SEEN the world we live in? As an introvert, this was an intimidating and undesirable idea. At least, that’s what I thought in 2013 after graduation while still trying to figure myself and the world out. To be clear, I do my best to continue to learn more about myself and the world everyday. That effort has turned me into one of those people who suggests to recent college grads that they volunteer and get involved in their community.
Community Still Matters
Let’s start with why, shall we? We, as humans, are here today because of our ability to communicate and cooperate for the better of the whole. Community is built on this and provides support, structure, and resources to live a good life.
I believe community is especially important today because of the rise in addictive technology, extreme political divides, and the epidemic of loneliness both factors contribute to. Our free time is under siege by our screen time. Our real world connections have lost ground to unfulfilling parasocial relationships.
There’s plenty of research out there pointing to the benefits of going offline and getting involved, and a multitude of strategies on how to do it.
How I Got Started
Here’s how I did it. My first step was to reset and regulate my nervous system. Go outside. Great! Now that I’ve grounded myself, I’ll speak with real humans offline in my local community. The plethora of coffee shops in the Cedar Valley have been great venues to meet with friends and acquaintances. I’ve found that many folks I reach out to are also in great need of connection. This is usually the first of many things we find in common. Shared interests, values, and an open mind primed for acceptance of others will strengthen these connections. If they have an idea or goal that excites me, when it makes sense, I may offer help. If I have an idea or goal I’m excited about, and they’re excited about it too, I might ask if they would like to join and help.
Let’s pretend one of these meetings has led to an opportunity to help each other. This is where it gets more exciting. The thing I now have at my disposal, that I didn’t as a recent graduate, is a particular set of skills. Skills I have been building since changing careers in 2015. Skills that make me a dream for my friends in marketing. In case it wasn’t obvious, those skills are in video production. At its core, video is among the best ways to communicate a message to an audience. Pointing that power toward a worthy cause is a no brainer.
Volunteering My Skills
Volunteering my time is one piece of the puzzle. Spending that time leveraging skills I enjoy is another. It has amplified the value and joy I feel and bring to projects that help my community. Recently, I worked on a fun cross promotional piece for the Waterloo Community Playhouse and the Cedar Falls Community Theatre. WCP will be putting on Annie and CFCT will be putting on Grease. I also volunteered to help the WCP make promos for Laughter On The 23rd Floor and Sweeney Todd.
Another larger ongoing project I’m working on is a series of fundraising campaign videos for a new skatepark in Cedar Falls. Here’s one of the first videos, and I am proud to say that it hit well over 15k views which is a promising start. If I could, I would donate several thousand dollars to this and other causes I care about. Since I’m not made of money, I can’t, but I can and will donate video work throughout the campaign that will be worth at least that much.
Avoiding Burnout
I have found joy by volunteering my time and talent, specifically for video production, to organizations and causes in my community that I feel strongly about. One danger in doing this is burning out on video work, which has happened in the past. It’s great to do what you love for work, but too much of a good thing is still too much. Learn from my mistakes. Don’t overdo it. The way I have avoided burnout this time around is due to a combination of things:
- Boundaries – I have to be honest with myself and any collaborators about my capacity so I don’t take on too much. Remember, put on your oxygen mask first so you can help others.
- Variety – The work I volunteer for is typically quite different from most of the client work at ATCP. It gets me out of my comfort zone more frequently while making creative ruts more infrequent.
- Creative Freedom – I am volunteering my time as a professional. The groups I work with understand and appreciate this. Therefore, they share their goal and any constraints, then we clarify the vision and then they let me cook. It’s an opportunity to develop my creative voice as a Director of Photography.
Bringing it Back to Work
One of the benefits of getting involved in these projects is a very low pressure opportunity to be imperfect, try new gear, new techniques, new workflows, etc… and hone the craft. I’m not sure I would be doing this volunteer work if it weren’t for the support from my wife and my team at ATCP. Since 2006, ATCP employees and the business itself has volunteered or donated many free videos to non profit organizations that we feel passionate about. Examples include work for the North East Iowa Foodbank, United Way, local libraries, UNI and Hawkeye Community College, Holiday Hoopla, Cedar Falls Chamber of Commerce, the historical society, hospitals, Cedar Falls Community Foundation….the list goes on and on. We believe it is our responsibility to give back to our community, and we enjoy doing that through video projects.
Getting involved in my community was intimidating, but feeling alone while surrounded by others is downright terrifying. With practice, reaching out to offer help through my time and talent became much less scary and as I have found, quite rewarding. We all have skills that can help our community. It feels good to do good and make a positive impact, and I’m thankful to be part of ATCP where that value is supported and encouraged.