Does volunteerism make a difference in the world?

Becoming a volunteer means doing something for nothing for the most part; however, some may do it for the sake of service work to list on college applications and resumes, or for some other reason such as being on a school board to launch a political career, or work on political campaigns for the party they belong to, etc.

Remembering Sandel’s book, being involved in some activity certainly is Utilitarian, but reasons for doing so may not be—they may be about intention and motive, Kantian.

From reading Coles’ The Call of Service , we have seen a number of volunteers who are clearly involved in hard work with others, but are also clearly troubled by what they get out of it in terms of reward as regards their resumes or applications.

There are those who volunteer for the sake of doing well, from being altruistic, religious, and stoic, to simply forming a bond with others that enriches their lives.

Examine the motivations of those who volunteer. Pick a particular kind of volunteering.

Your argument in this essay is whether volunteerism is worth it for those serving and those being served: is it possible for the motive of the volunteer to be enough for the intrinsic reward of doing good or service, or must there be a possible concrete reward—an extrinsic reward of “good done”? How does this matter of motive and reward affect those served? Does it matter to them or not, and why?