When Bebe Fitzgerald began working as a volunteer for the Audubon Society at age 53, it was something of a lark. But the resident of Billings, Montana, kept volunteering for three decades until her death at age 83. On one of her last birding trips, she admitted that she couldn’t spot birds quite as easily as she used to, but she still provided invaluable assistance to a group of novices who didn’t know their grackles from their grebes.
In addition to her work for the Aubudon Society, Fitzgerald coordinated volunteers for the Global Village, a charity organization that sells crafts, clothing, and other products from the Third World countries. She never had any trouble finding people who were willing to donate their time, she said. Perhaps that’s because so many people have discovered what she found out during 30 years of service: The benefits of volunteering can go far beyond the satisfaction of a job well done.
…