Volunteer Opportunities

OLLI Mason is a member run organization. While we don't require everyone to fill a position, there are three interrelated reasons why volunteering is important to OLLI—money, workload, and teaching. 

Simply put, it would cost you a lot more to be a member if OLLI had to pay for all its operations. Although we don’t have to do some things that a private college would (such as administer entrance requirements, give exams, and award degrees), we offer programs that are comparable to those found in colleges. We get by with what is really a minimal membership fee because:

• We rely on our members to teach or recruit instructors.
• We don’t pay outside teachers and speakers.
• Over 80% of the work of running the organization is done by member volunteers. 

We do employ administrative help, a necessity as we continue to grow. In fact, almost half our budget goes to personnel costs, reflecting the well known fact that personnel costs are the major expense item in many organizations.  

Quite aside from financial need, volunteering in an organization from which members derive so much enjoyment can and should be personally satisfying and rewarding.  

Four other things should be said about volunteering:

• You don’t need prior experience or expertise in a particular field, although this is always welcome and in a few cases necessary. Everyone has the talent to help in some capacity. If special knowledge is required, we can train you.
• You should volunteer only for what you want to do.
• Your time is valuable. We won’t ask you to put in more time than you can handle comfortably or serve longer than you can.
• You should look on volunteer work as enjoyable and rewarding. If it isn’t, we are doing something wrong.