Today I had to stand in the entryway of a local shopping centre collecting money for my surf lifesaving club. Basically for two hours I held out one of these:

I imagine that one of these full would be insanely heavy

I learned a lot in those 2 hours, particularly that collecting money for the lifesavers (or anyone for that matter) is hard work. Here’s why:

1. Some people will avoid eye contact with you at all costs, even if it means they almost walk into a pole (laughing at them is permitted in my opinion)
2. Some people will provide the most lamest of excuses on why they can’t donate to you (“It’s a cashless society nowadays, what’s this coin business?” If only we had direct debit forms available huh? Bet you still wouldn’t donate)
3. It gets incredibly boring (I couldn’t remember enough song lyrics to keep myself entertained)
4. Standing up for 2 hours can hurt after a while
5. Friends may come past to jeer at you, even if they donate money, and take photos of you while you try resist swearing at them and giving them the finger

Ahem...thanks for the picture Dan.

After 5 minutes of doing the collecting I wanted to kill myself. Not literally, that would be pretty dramatic (no one tell me to call beyondblue thanks). The first few people I dealt with either ignored me or gave me a bad excuse. I felt incredibly lonely, stuck out like a sore thumb and was bored.

By the end of the shift it actually wasn’t that bad. I had met some pretty cool people, including one elderly lady who after emptying the contents of her coin purse into my tin proceeded to sit on the nearby chair and berate the people that didn’t donate. I also had a lot of compliments from people thanking me for volunteering my time, and for the wonderful job the lifesavers do. Amen to that, there are some incredible lifesavers out there and they all do it on their own time.

I know my club needs all the money they can get, so I daresay I’ll put my hand up for doing this again. Every little bit we can get counts. Besides, if it wasn’t for my club I wouldn’t spend hours at the beach and experience beautiful days like this:

Admit it, that's a beautiful view

 So the next time you see a volunteer trying to collect some money, remember this:

We don’t want your lies, and we don’t want any bullshit. If you can’t spare the money that’s fine, we don’t expect anything, but we appreciate everything. Even a smile helps, and makes us feel a lot better. It’s hard getting turned down time after time.

To all the people that have donated in the past or will donate the future, thank you. To the people that can only offer us a smile, thank you. To the people that ignore us, or make us feel like scabs, screw you. Just remember who it is that might have to come to the aid of your friends, family, or even yourself. The person who rescues you doesn’t ask for anything back, so treat us with some respect. You never know when you might need us.