I guess patience is not a virtue I possess; I have a hard time dealing with inefficiency…
As the team manager of my son’s hockey team, I and three other parents need to update our police checks to volunteer on the team. All of us had this done many times over the years, through schools and sports teams. However, the rule is the checks have to be updated regularly. I thought it would be more efficient to submit all four at once, so I volunteered to take their forms in with mine. I photocopied all of the necessary ID, and had the other individuals fill in their own paperwork.
Yesterday, with four organized, neatly stapled, efficient packages of paper in my possession, I waited in line at our local police station. I was behind at least twelve other people. The first sign of inefficiency? One lone police officer behind one of four wickets attended the needs of all the people in the line. Apparently the budget was able to support this beautiful new building, but not the staff to occupy it. The fact that the line up was a group of chairs that we sat in should have warned me that the wait was going to be a long one. When the line had not moved an inch in over thirty minutes, I left, as I had too many things to get done in the next few hours.
This morning I went back to try again. After waiting 45 minutes for the same lone police officer to help me, I was told that I could not submit the paperwork for the other parents. Apparently this practice was discontinued several years ago. I know I have done this before, so it must have been discontinued fairly recently.
I do recognize the importance of these police checks for volunteers working with children. However, parents are busier than ever today juggling work commitments with their children activities. The volunteer process should be much simpler and much more efficient.
Volunteers are extremely important to the success of any community. Our children benefit directly when parents volunteer for the many positions that need to be filled. Not to mention the example these volunteers provide on how to give back to the community that gives so much to them.
This is where I lapse into song from one of my favorites musicals, “Wicked.” And the words are…”No good deed goes unpunished.” Sadly, it’s so often true. And no more so than with volunteerism. Efficiency? I don’t think the word exists in practice very often. Hope the hockey season makes makes it worth the effort in the end. 🙂
Wow, how frustrating. What I hate most in situations like this is there seems to be an assumption that their time is more valuable than yours….