Former U.S. President Ronald Reagan generated loyalty in politics that was unheard of at the time. A former actor, he was best known as the great communicator! When he died, the outpouring of loyal leaders as well as citizens was amazing. Keep in mind that the torch bearer for the original conservative movement in the 1980′s had changed parties from Democrat to Republican. So even this man had to work his way through political minefields to get settled, all while keeping a loyal fan base later called Reagan Democrats.

Loyalty in sports is legendary. Sports fans around the world will stay with their teams through thick and thin. From basket ball to base ball to football, loyal fans are generated by the skilled use of marketing as much as winning records.

For some who root for the underdogs, the Green Bay Packers are a choice that has resulted in sports bars catering to Packer fans in most major metropolitan cities in the United States! That is a fan base folks, with tons of loyalty to go around. Several other sports franchises would love to have such a loyal set of fans spread all over the world, in football or other sports.

How did the Packers generate such a fan base and more importantly how can those lessons apply to our empowered volunteers? Let’s examine this a bit more to find out.

Football appeals to a wide audience, including women and even high status people. It isn’t a one social class attraction. This is true of volunteering as well. Interestingly enough, the very successful are often giving of their time on weekends for volunteering, just as football fans devote their time on weekends for their team in stadiums across the United States.

From a recent Forbes article I read recently, “Laura Vanderkam, author of What the Most Successful People Do Before Breakfast (Portfolio, 2012) and What the Most Successful People Do on the Weekend (Portfolio, 2012), says successful people know that weekends are actually the secret weapon in professional success. “You need to hit Monday ready to go,” she says. “To do that, you need weekends that rejuvenate you, rather than exhaust or disappoint you. Cross-training makes you a better athlete, and likewise, exercise, volunteer work, spiritual activities, and hands-on parenting make you a better worker than if you just worked all the time.” The bold on volunteer work is mine in this quote.

If the rich and successful see volunteer work as worthy, so should everyone who is aspiring to be successful, no matter how far they have managed to get towards that goal.

With the health benefits of volunteering already established long ago, another study furthers that truth.

A national survey of 3,351 adults conducted by Harris Interactive on behalf of UnitedHealth Group demonstrates that volunteering is good for your health.

Here are some of the takeaways from this research: “Companies that encourage and sponsor volunteer activities are also likely to engender goodwill and loyalty among employees. And of the employed volunteers in the survey who volunteered through their workplace, 81% agreed that volunteering together strengthens relationships among colleagues.

The survey suggests that nationally, more than half of all employees have volunteered. At UnitedHealth Group, 81 percent of employees and 96 percent of executives volunteered last year, so they clearly believe in the benefits—both tangible and intangible—of having employees engaged in their communities.” Again, the bold word loyalty is mine in the  above quote.

How does all of this help the empowered volunteer? If the wealthy and successful find volunteering worthy, then it can apply to anyone else who aspires to be either wealthy or successful.

It most certainly can apply to the poor also, but the health benefits for the poor will outweigh the other aspects gained from volunteering. The wealthy have access to better health management so this nails down what volunteering can also do for them, it is the social and intangible features they are looking for, as well as networking.

Loyalty, what is it worth? Well, ask the sports franchises who have had winning seasons but then when they are down their fans abandon them.

Fan loyalty is a study all in itself and I am not going to dwell on it very long, I only offer to point out that for the only major sports franchise in the U.S. who are still owned by the public and not owned by one wealthy owner the Green Bay Packers have a loyal fan base second to none! Other sports have the NY Yankees with a great loyal fan base that travels well. There are other teams that would qualify for high fan loyalty, such as the Dallas Cowboys.

So how did these teams do this and how can it apply to volunteering? First off, the Packers use volunteers throughout the year to help with their program. They even pay low wages for volunteers to shovel by hand the entire stadium every time a snow fall threatens to interfere with the next game! They always have to turn away the volunteers they have so many show up when they put out the word for help! Talk about loyal.

The second thing is that winning helps, a bunch. Consistent winning helps enormously. 

The Packers have several TV and radio programs every week where players make guest appearances and fans can meet and get signed stuff from that player. So if you are willing to wait an average of 3 hours before taping the show, you can meet a player or the coach. Pretty nice, and this is NOT the norm in every NFL football program by the way. Some teams I have found out don’t even support a short program each week for the coach to meet the fans live! Wow, what a missed opportunity to build loyalty.

Shriners

How do you apply this kind of thinking to volunteering?

Well, an example of one group’s success is the Shriner’s promotion of their Shrine East/West Football game by inviting the public to enjoy dinner and a presentation with the college players who are hoping to be drafted a few months from the game to visit with fans the night before the game. It costs money for the event, but most of us never get close to real players in this type of setting. Meeting the players and getting photo’s and autographs is exciting and intimate, just like being in the audience of a  Packer TV show, no matter which of the shows you visit each week. It promotes goodwill and loyalty! Fans love it and so do volunteers.

Several volunteer groups have sponsored race cars over the last few years. NASCAR fans are so loyal and they are very energetic. For the volunteers who manage to get passes to the drivers area or pit row, the effect and resulting loyalty is dramatic. It lasts for a very long time.

Loyalty is valuable, it is coveted and it is required for long term success in most organizations. In the next post we will continue exploring how to generate loyalty.

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Some people become famous in part because they show their passion for their cause to everyone they meet. It seems to be a part of them. They live to support that group or business or team!

The caption above of Bret Favre bobble heads was offered to those of us attending the last game Bret Favre ever played in Green Bay as a Green Bay Packer. I was lucky enough to be at that very cold game at the “frozen tundra” of Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Green Bay Packers lost in overtime to the New York Giants, who went on to win the Super Bowl that year.

In the history of football it is arguable that no one else who played could be more associated with the passion of playing the game than Bret Favre. 

He certainly would be one of the more famous of the passionate players ever to have played, no matter which team you might support. Most fans can remember his jumping up and down and waving his hands as he threw touch downs to his receivers. The energy he showed was really impressive. For the Packer fans, it was infectious. Bret was passion, pure and simple.

This is the kind of passion that everyone needs to find in their lives. The business person who never notices the long hours at his or her own business is a prime example. The sports fan who travels to every venue that their sport or team has to play at in support of their team. This is really dedicated and every sport covets those fans who are so dedicated as to travel with the team!

You can find passion for the arts, for so many sports fans from race car driving to the NFL football or NCAA college football, particularly in the southern United States, to soccer as a worldwide passionate sport! Individual sporting events can muster passion too, such as golf or tennis.

Passion can’t be measured solely by how many fans it possesses either.

Recent threats by the Olympic Committee to eliminate Olympic Wrestling from participating in any future Olympics has brought out the passion for the sport from every country and from seemingly everywhere recently. Traditional wrestling powerhouses in college such as the University of Iowa have banded together with other college teams and coaches and support groups to save Olympic wrestling. The passion can be felt in nearly every Face Book posting on the subject. For fans who are old enough, Dan Gable represents the passion of the native Iowan who made it to the Olympics and set a record for never in any match allowing the opposition to score on him! Folks, that is passion!

Wrestling doesn’t have a professional aspect to it, despite the versions of so called professional wrestling contests that one can view on cable, which are scripted and very dangerous for the participants but are not in any way real wrestling. So the stake are high if they fail to save wrestling and there is no longer a route for the graduated college athlete beyond college.

For the empowered volunteer, he or she needs to channel the passion that is abundantly clear and visible in so many people who are living their dream job or finding their passion on weekends. Everyone should feel that passion, even if they are only able to do it for a short time with the intensity that is needed.

Passion forces you to fully focus on your task or objective.

For football fans that are watching at a stadium, passion is something that is obvious but very hard to measure. Legendary names in football such as the late Reggie White who helped the Green Bay Packers win a Super Bowl are thought of by football fans of all teams as passion personified. Reggie played with a young Bret Favre who went on to personify passion for the game after Reggie retired.

Reggie White had another passion, which was evangelism.

He carried that message of Jesus to every locker room he ever went into. So Reggie was passionate on many levels and he is still renowned for that very high level of passion that he brought to life. It is very hard to harness that amount of passion in one’s life. But volunteers would be well served to try.

What is holding you back from this level of passion for your volunteer group or the charity that your group supports? If it is something that can be fixed, do it. If it is something beyond your ability to fix, then find another volunteer opportunity that can elevate your passion to the heights necessary for you to thrive! Move it or lose it as the saying goes.

I have traveled to more than 30 countries in my life time. I have seen the passion people in other countries have for soccer, which is called football outside the United States. This passion is every bit as intense as what we see here in the United States for our football. Passion transmits itself across cultures and across borders. Passion is universal. It is the driving force for many projects in history and many things would never have been built without the passion for that effort.

In the military a famous saying goes like this, “Lead, follow, or get out of the way”.

For the empowered volunteer this is wise advice. If the passion you need is not found in the group or the service you provide to your charity, then either lead the group to the passion, follow a leader who is providing the passion, or get out of the way by going where your passion can be found and used.

How do you develop passion? Start with an honest evaluation of your habits and how they serve you. If your habits are not supporting the passion you need, consider changing them, one at a time until the environment evolves into one where your passion can emerge. See my post on habits and how to improve them.

Once you locate the precise habits that inhibit your pursuit of passion for your goals, consider modifying them or eliminating them and replacing them with habits that will support your goals.

For instance, if you find that a project for next year’s group which needs at a minimum twenty new members with specific talents and experience, and you identify with this goal, set your passion to action! Engage your leadership, develop a plan and show your energy in pursuing the goal. If you find that a setback holds you up, round up help by showing your enthusiasm and your energy and usually the obstacle will be eliminated. People rally to those with passion!

On Dec 22, 2003 Bret Favre played a football game with the Oakland Raiders right after his dad suddenly and unexpectedly passed away. He was so passionate that he had to play for the memory of his father and he would not consider stepping down that night. He passed for 399 yards with 4 scores in a 41 – 7 win. That night Bret’s receivers were not going to let him down. He led the team with a passion that just could not be stopped.

Passion is contagious. It is tangible. It is the one thing that can overcome seemingly mountainous odds.

If enough passionate empowered volunteers can be generated we will rebuild America’s volunteer groups and then we can do the same thing with the rest of the world too.

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Freemasons

Over the years I have heard many times, there is nothing that I would want to volunteer for when I would tell fellow workers where I was the evening before. I don’t feel passionate about any group was another excuse often mentioned. While this may be true for a very few, most of those making this claim were in fact wrong. When I would talk to time for a bit I nearly always found that they had passions and many of those passions had opportunities for volunteering. Most of my fellow workers simply did not prioritize their passions as worth the effort more than they wanted to have fun chasing ladies or other activities.

The key is you need to see the effort as worth while. For several ideas on why you should volunteer from a medical point of view see the posts I have already written on this subject.

The key here is to not take a list of volunteer groups and wedge yourself into one of them. Find your passion and then find the associated group! Your passion is by far the most important thing you could identify first.

Outdoors oriented folks can choose from a number of groups. Izaak Walton League had in 2006 50,000 members and 300 clubs. How about the Audubon Society, Bass Unlimited or Pheasants Forever, are any of these up your alley? Perhaps the famous Boone and Crockett association fits you more? Pheasants Forever in 2006 had 570 chapter in 29 states. Don’t forget Future Farmers of America (FFA) or youth groups like 4H or Ruritan, which in 2006 had 30,000 members and 1,000 clubs.

For manufacturing members the American Society of Quality (ASQ) is active and has volunteer opportunities.

For history enthusiasts the opportunities abound. Currently the Civil War group, http://www.civilwar.org/aboutus/events/park-day/ is planning a volunteer day for April 6th, 2013. Check with the site for opportunities in your state. This group’s aim is to preserve civil war areas from land development. This is not an easy task and the efforts to preserve our history drive many a passionate volunteer.

The current climate in politics makes is likely most voters are more aware of the NRA than they may have been in the past. But there are several other less populated groups with similar political thoughts, including the Well Armed Woman FB site located here, http://www.facebook.com/TheWellArmedWoman. It is not only the men who believe that the 2nd amendment to the Constitution of the United States has value, many ladies do as well. Many people are stunned when they find this out. Way too many stereotypes abound on this subject.

Perhaps you like chess? There are local chess clubs all over the United States. The US Chess Federation website is http://www.uschess.org. You can locate other players online or locally. In 2006 the US had 1334 chess clubs. Keep in mind that face to face interactions along with passionate volunteering is what we are looking for here.

Other causes include Mothers Against Drunk Drivers (MADD) with 600 chapters in 2006, Association for the Advancement of Retired People (AARP) with 35 million members in 2006, Investment clubs, United Investors Association which in 2006 had 100 groups, Clown Clubs, Motorcycle Clubs, National Garden Clubs with 217,233 members and 7,251 clubs in 2006.

The variety of groups should by now strike most readers as wide and varied. If you can feel passionate about it and find a local group then you are well on your way towards better health and better mental well being.

Before you say you can’t find a group, find your passion. This is often the really hard spot. What moves you?

Sports teams have many groups. Even if you move most areas have sports hang outs for fans. I have been a Green Bay Packer fan ever since watching the first two Super Bowls with my dad. Since Green Bay won, and my home state of Iowa has no professional sports team of any kind in the state, I adopted the Packers. Through ups and downs I tried to follow them. Today you can find local bars and groups of Packer Fans nearly anywhere you travel in the US and even some places abroad. This is true of other sports teams as well. While the volunteer opportunities are limited, if you are passionate then the possibilities are likely to come up.

My father was a private pilot in Central Iowa years ago. He joined and eventually served as the president of the Midwest Tri-Pacer Association. He planned meeting sites for the group to fly into and eat at different locations, making arrangements for the reception and meetings. He loved the group and the work of volunteering for a year seemed to him no problem. Sometimes as kids we went along too. Many private pilots are very passionate about their type of plane and their yearly meetings if they attend. One large meeting for private pilots is in Oshkosh, Wisconsin every year. They require a large number of volunteers for the week long event.

My point is that groups of all kinds abound. I used to do Western Square Dancing in Des Moines, Iowa. They always needed volunteers to coordinate the functions. Don’t forget magic clubs, Metal Detector clubs, Archaeological Clubs, Science Clubs, Dog Clubs, Cat Clubs, Car Clubs, clubs that help veterans such as the USO, retired US Navy ships clubs (particularly if they were made into diving reefs like my first ship, the USS Speigle Grove LSD-32), ships reunions, Army unit reunions, Daughters of the American Revolution which had 2,975 chapters in 2006, and many more.

Let’s get back to passionate. Did a close relative have a encounter with a terminal disease? That list and the associated groups are vast. My first wife died from Lupus, so the Lupus Foundation of America was a natural place for me to volunteer for a few years. Cancer groups are prolific. Many other groups help those with a special disease. Is your passion in this area?

Do your passions run towards religious groups. The amount of people associated with religious volunteer groups in the United States is very large. The Roman Catholic Church (RCC) group, Knights of Columbus, with 1.6 million members in 2006 is one of the better known of these volunteer groups. Started by Father Michael McGiveny in New Haven Connecticut in 1882, it was a reaction to the anti-Catholic sentiment in the United States as well as the success of the Freemasons, functioning as a place for Catholics to assemble just like their counterparts in Freemasonry.

As we will see, many civic and fraternal groups were either formed by Masons or highly influenced by the fraternity. Imitation is regarded as the most sincere form of flattery. This makes the Freemasons, the largest and oldest fraternal organization in the world, pretty respected if all of the groups it influenced can be a guide.

The Knights of Columbus often hold parades for St. Patrick’s Day. In many locations they invite the local Shriners to bring their unique subgroups along to increase the size and variety of the parade. Shriners, all members being Freemasons before being admitted to the Shrine if they petition for membership, are very willing to share a parade in most cases. I have as a Shriner participated in such a gathering when I was in Va. Beach, Va. The fun and social connections between many who often don’t gather socially is something to see. I have very fond memories of these parades and the socializing after wards.

To be clear in this instance, Knights of Columbus (KOC) members are required to be Roman Catholic Church (RCC) members in good standing. So Greek Orthodox Church members, also Catholic but not Roman would usually not qualify. Freemasons have no issue with Roman Catholics joining in any way since they believe in God, but not all Freemasons can join the KOC if they are Jewish, Deist, or Protestant in their religious leanings.

Groups to be passionate about would seem abundant. Book clubs, computer clubs, political groups, ethnic associations of all kinds, weight losing clubs, dart groups, pool playing groups, card playing groups such as Bridge clubs, adult soft ball groups, the list seems endless.

Please don’t take away from my suggestions that only Jews and Christians can be Freemasons. Freemasonry is a world wide group with lodges and members in most countries of the world. A famous British writer, Rudyard Kipling wrote many books which eventually became classics and some were turned into movies, such as The Man Who Would Be King. He wrote in his biography how he was involved with men of several religions in his Masonic travels.

Rudyard Kipling, Freemason and author

From his autobiography published posthumously in 1937, Something of Myself–

“In ’85 I was made a Freemason by dispensation (Lodge Hope and Perseverance 782 E.C.), being under age, because the Lodge hoped for a good Secretary. They did not get him, but I helped, and got Father to advise in decorating the bare walls of the Masonic Hall with hangings after the prescription of Solomon’s Temple. Here I met Muslims, Hindus, Sikhs, members of the Arya and Brahmo Samaj, and a Jew tyler, who was priest and butcher to his little community in the city. So yet another world opened to me which I needed.”

Kipling’s own entry suggests that at this time British military officers in India were open and even well associated with men from various religious backgrounds. Since Freemasonry started in England, it seems safe to say that this fraternity appeals to good men of various religious values. The ideal group to bring men together rather than keep them apart. Very few groups do this particular social aspect as well as the Masons. You will find passion runs deep in many Freemasons!

Once you figure out a passionate issue you would be willing to support, the chances that you can align with some group are pretty good. In future posts I will delve into this matter in greater detail.

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