Backing out of a volunteer gig?
I have a problem that I’m not sure how to deal with. I’ve been a volunteer with the e-Buddies program since about 2003 or so. The volunteer requirements aren’t too terribly taxing: I just have to send one email per week to my “buddy,” an adult with intellectual disabilities.
The problem is, I’ve had the same buddy, “K,” for over two years now and find that we’ve pretty much run out of things to talk about. This has been an issue for several months, so I’m just basically going through the motions in each of my emails to K. My messages are completely superficial and barely worth reading.
I would like to take a break from the program for a while, but can’t come up with a good excuse for doing so. It seems like one email a week (which takes 5 minutes max) wouldn’t be that big a deal, but since I’m writing the same crap each time, it starts to wear on me.
So what can I say to back out? I’m too busy? Again, just five minutes isn’t much to ask. I don’t have anything in common with my buddy? There’s a screening process in place that matches participants based on interests, so theoretically, K and I should be a good match.
No matter what I say, I’ll end up sounding like a selfish schmuck. So does this mean I have to participate until I die?