Written by Kurtis Bell, Service Master by Bell

This month I had the opportunity to talk with Bridge Builders Community Foundation’s executive Director Trenton Moulin. We discussed networking, millennials, and non-profit volunteering.

Millennials continue to be a very diverse and interesting population. We’ve been labeled everything from lazy to entitled narcissists, and this next point may feed in to these stereotypes. Millennials seek satisfaction. We want to be happy (but who doesn’t?). Sure, some of us seek happiness in material objects, but others seek fulfillment through helping others.

Just like those that came before us, we want to lead and have responsibility. Now, as Trenton pointed out, due to organizations and companies not being as deeply layered as they once were, we often lack the opportunity to lead or take on additional responsibilities in our careers or jobs. Being self centered millennials, we must look elsewhere to fulfill these desires, so many of us turn to the non profit world. In working with non profits, we can fulfill our desires to help others as well as our desires to take on responsibility and even lead.

What if you have never had a leadership role? One of Trenton’s mentors would always tell him to jump in to the vacuum. By making this jump, you can fill a void and gain experience at the same time. Sure, learning about leadership through conferences and seminars is great, but it is no substitute for actually leading.

Hopefully this helps paint us millennials in a better light. If you are a millennial looking to help out, take the advice and jump in because in this instance, practice trumps theory. If you are looking to add some new faces to your organization, consider a millennial. Despite what you’ve heard, we are looking to help out and are eager to learn.

This article was published in the Venango Area Chamber of Commerce’s November 2018 edition of the VenangoWorks! Newsletter.