Photo courtesy of Mimi Schaefer

On January 1, 2009, Mimi Schaefer made a New Year’s resolution that didn’t have anything to do with exercise, food, or her wallet. Instead, every month she would volunteer at a non-profit organization near her home in Denver, Colorado. Unlike the 1 in 1.15 adults that dropped their resolutions by the year’s end, she kept her promise. She gave time to a Brazilian dinner to raise awareness about the coffee trade, a two-week literature festival, and the National Kidney Foundation. She hosted a visiting biologist from Angola and explored issues like homelessness and youth mental illness. Reflecting on what she called her “Year of the Volunteer,” she doesn’t think she’ll ever be the same.

Tell me how you came to the resolution that you wanted to volunteer.

My first idea was to have fun. I wasn’t going to do anything masochistic, like work out more or eat less! When it seems like suffering or torture, resolutions fail. I enjoy being with people, having adventure, and writing. I decided that volunteering would be the way to accomplish the first two goals, and that I would blog to hold myself accountable. If I put it out there in public, then I’d have to do it.

Had you ever blogged before?

No, it was completely new to me, but writing wasn’t. I had a diary when I was little; writing really helps me make sense of things. I’ve written competitively for academic fellowships, and at work I’ve always searched for ways to write more than just emails. With this project, I posted things online, but I also sent email updates to everyone in my contact list. I tried to keep it short so people would actually read them. I don’t know, maybe some people didn’t read them, but I ran into people I hadn’t seen in awhile and they were like, “Oh yeah, I read about that. That’s so cool!”

How did you find a different place to volunteer every month?

VolunteerMatch.org had a lot of variety. If you played the piano or could juggle, they wanted you. I wanted to do something different, and I used the site for ideas.

Because you were searching for places and events that were very unfamiliar, was there one that was especially rewarding?

I liked a lot of them, but the Same Café was just phenomenal. They serve healthy, organic, and fresh food made daily, and you pay for it with what you can afford—some people put in 50 cents and others put in 50 bucks. In May, I helped serve, wiped tables, cleaned dishes, put dishes away, and made pizza and sugar cookies. You were in direct contact with the people that you were serving, as well the people who served.

What about that environment made such an impact?

Everybody there appreciated what was happening. The place was full of creativity and energy and focus. The founders had this great, creative, risky idea, and they’ve been in business now for three years. They serve a need that no one else really serves.

It must have been hard to find time to research, contact, and select new opportunities every single month.

My goal was just four hours a month, on a weekend or lunch break or evening. I scheduled it just like everything else.

Was this the first time you were successful with a New Year’s resolution?

Actually, I’ve made a lot that have become lifelong habits. In the early 1990s, I was a young single parent, I didn’t make a lot of money, and I didn’t have a lot of time. I was constantly going to fast food restaurants. Someone at work talked to me and really influenced me about eating better. That year I sat down and thought about how money was scarce, and about my health and my daughter’s health. I resolved that fast food wasn’t where I wanted my money or energy to go. To the fast food industry’s chagrin, I haven’t walked into a McDonald’s in a long, long time.

Why do you think you’ve been able to keep the New Year’s resolutions you make?

Both times I was doing something that was enjoyable to me. Eating better food meant having better flavors, better tastes, and getting more value for my money. That made me happy. And volunteering and writing made me happy. I mean, my resolution this year was life changing. It gave me the chance to get in touch with my humanity, and it was really an unexpected joy. I can’t tell you happy I’ve been this year, even though I’m crying.

Has there been anything you’ve done before that has made as much of an impact on your life as your resolution to volunteer?

Being a mom. It’s that big.

You must have plans for 2010.

I will definitely continue to volunteer. I ask a lot of questions in my head, so I might do something else that involves writing, too. I think I want to inspire people to be nicer to themselves. If volunteering makes you happy, do it. If something else makes you happy, do that. What’s a resolution for, if it’s not to be happy? If everyone were happy, do you know how much less conflict there would be?