Serve.gov: A Complaint
I love the idea of serve.gov. In fact, I’d hoped it would help me find opportunities as I travel to different cities.
I’m disappointed.
It is SO abused. It makes me nauseous. A whole lot of the “volunteer opportunities” aren’t really service, by my definition: they are giving free help to for-profit companies.
A few weeks ago, a for-profit pharmacy advertising for unpaid help. A marketing company asked for a “volunteer” to man their booth at a county fair to advertise their for-profit services. There were many more instances of, what appeared to me, companies and businesses who want something for nothing.
I’m sorry, I just don’t see that as service. It’s starting to look like small companies, who don’t want to pay real employees, enticing people to work for free.
There are still a few gems, if you scour and scour, so I suppose serve.gov does serve its purpose.
But it leaves me with a bad taste in my mouth. So many people are unemployed. I really hope for-profit companies aren’t taking advantage of volunteers who think they’re serving the country—but are only serving the profit line of a business—instead of hiring real employees who need real work. And with serve.gov being such a national force… could it be contributing to an (albeit, small) increase in the unemployment rate?
What think you?
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Natasha Fondren is a writer traveling the U.S. in a camper with her four cats. She is currently enjoying the lizards and desert heat in Arizona.
I’d never heard of serve.gov, but it sounds wrongly used if they want volunteers for for-profit companies. I know small businesses really do often have trouble paying for employees, but that’s not excuse to abuse the system.
Seriously, Written. I mean, I coulda been real profitable if I’d gotten free help. That’s not the way it works.
I agree. I hope they don’t get any volunteers.
I hope not, too.
That’s terrible! I’ve never heard of serve.gov, but that sounds like a real abuse of the system.
Serve.gov is a FANTASTIC idea. It’s just… citizens are abusing it. Greed, always greed… can’t people let off on it for just a LITTLE while?
That is so disappointing, Natasha. People have enough problems in this rough economy without being taken advantage of by unethical, unfeeling Shylocks.
Amen, Rick!
That’s disgusting that paid for businesses are using the system that way. I’m shaking my head. Man some things burn me up.
I know, Charles! It really irked me!
Considering the government, in general, pays their employees boatloads of money, aren’t they taking advantage of citizens as well? Being all magnanimous and offering us poor schmucks a chance to “serve our country” when they are making six figures or more and could/should hire someone to do that work?
It’s a Catch-22, Elizabeth. I guess I wouldn’t want us citizens to pay for the kind of manpower that would keep people who advertise on serve.gov honest… but then… I don’t know. Why can’t people just respect the site’s purpose?
The good thing about the average person is they’re smart enough not to fall for crap like that. Not in this economically dismal day and age. When serve.gov realizes that we need food on our tables just like their six-figure paper-pushers do, then maybe they’ll come around and get serious. Maybe.
Yeah, I wonder, Marcia. Because I was totally going to volunteer for one thing, and the way they set it up, I had to investigate, google, and click in numerous places to figure out that they were for-profit.
You know, I’ve never heard of it. But I only volunteer at school, at church, and with writers. I know it’s my own little world, but that’s where my interests lie, so it’s the way it goes.
Too bad. Capitalism once again bringing out the worst in people.
Really, Bets? Serve.gov is a fabulous idea! Set up by Obama.
I was excited, because with me traveling every month, I can’t make those contacts you have in each place quite as easily.
That totally sucks! Leave it to the government to come up with a plan to help Big Business’s bottom line. Screw ‘em!
LOL! True, Kath! I think the government had its heart in the right place, but people abused the system.
People are always trying to get away with whatever they can, for as long as they can. I just hope their intended victims are wise enough to see through the BS.
Avery, I’m so tired of that, but you’re so right. *sigh*