Is volunteering at a soup kitchen on Thanksgiving more of a burden than a help for a casual volunteer?

Based on my former experiences as (1) trade publication Features Editor for Association and Society Manager; and as (2) Projects Director for Andre Sobel River of Life Foundation; and as (3) a volunteer textbook voice recorder for The Braille Foundation, I offer the following point of view: Regular weekly volunteers often find volunteers who are newbies to the organization more of a burden than a benefit, but I think this kind of judgment is terribly short-sighted, for the following reasons: We never know who can provide new gifts (of every sort -- time, money, insight, connections, network opportunities, quid pro quos, etc.) which suddenly become needs for an organization. By broadening the scope of our 'nets' to include more people with generous hearts we encourage more people with more gifts to remember us. It is never a burden when viewed in that manner. The regular weekly staff needs influx of new blood. Always. There is always room for one more, even though Thanksgiving Day may be crowded with volunteers. A flood of newbies gives weekly staff the opportunity to model their organization's mission, i.e., why it is done as it is. By demonstrating what it is to serve others in the manner which is most consistent with the mission, the weekly volunteers show how the mission is accomplished. People from the outside, as newbies, see the impacts of how and why volunteers work as they do in a more objective manner. They think to themselves: Could I be doing this? Does this work? How effective is this? This kind of outside inquiry leads to new questions, new volunteers, new ways of adapting volunteer performance to accomplish mission goals. So, the next time a newbie steps on your toes and you are a weekly volunteer, smile, tell them where to place their feet and how to stand in a more effective manner, and teach that newbie what to do, and why -- with grace and humility. You never know what s/he can give back, if you give a little bit of inspiration to him/her. In conclusion, newbie volunteers only seem as if they're getting in the way on Thanksgiving Day. In fact, it is those who resent others who get in their own way, and in the way of the mission of the organization for which they work.

Never a burden as long as you don't show up unexpected. That's the real problem not being a newbie. There's only so many people that can work in any given soup kitchen for logistic reasons and, of course, trying to accommodate additional people that show up because it's Thanksgiving can be unpractical (or even impossible). But as long as you have signed up for a project or got in touch with the organizers beforehand you are absolutely welcomed. Even if you were to volunteer only on that day for the whole year and never come back. It is also quite common for several "hardcore" volunteers to take a "day off" on Thanksgiving because they know there's no shortage of helping hands in that day.

I was asked to answer this question but I can't add much more to what was already said by the other answerers, although I will add, being both a one time volunteer and a regular volunteer, new help is always appreciated, but it must be on a schedule. I have found the one time or new volunteers bring an added spirit which carries over to the regulars. I would suggest to anyone who has not volunteered at a soup-kitchen to do so, remembering those kitchens aren't only serving food on holidays. G-d bless us every one.