Candice, you have earned a gold star in Heaven for your efforts with Victor! God bless you for helping that poor family.
Volunteer work can be very rewarding, and fun. In our small town, we have found it difficult to keep some of our civic organizations viable because of time limitations imposed by careers. I am currently serving as President of our local art club, a position I held last year and would just as soon have given up this year, but there is no one else in our tiny club capable of doing it right now, due to health problems in some of the members. So I agreed to do it again this year. Next year, they will have to find someone else to be president, because I will be in school for nine months and unable to attend meetings.
I find volunteer work very rewarding. Not financially--in fact, it can become expensive if you "adopt" a cause or family. But the emotional rewards and self satisfaction rewards are astronomical. Giving is much more fun than receiving, if it is done with the right spirit.
Before I began working fulltime and while I was a fulltime homemaker, I was involved in 3 or 4 civic organizations locally, and held an office in each one. I enjoyed it immensely.
I called it "soul work."