Not interested in being a volunteer? Perhaps it's just a matter of terminology. A lot of people who don't find the idea of community service appealing change their minds when they learn it can encompass a host of different activities.
"Doctors, lawyers, and accountants don't volunteer, they do pro bono publica work," says volunteer management consultant Susan J. Ellis. "Men have always volunteered, they just call themselves coaches, trustees, and firemen."
Even religious and social activists can be considered volunteers. After all, as Ellis points out, Paul Revere was a silversmith, but we remember him for his volunteer work. How can a hero of the American revolution be likened to an intern? Simple. It's all in the motive.
