Recently I had a conversation about some young people’s obsession with getting paid for volunteer work. This is not the first of such conversations I’ve had over the last few years. And since Kwanzaa is coming up, it seems like a good time to connect the contradiction with the Nguzo Saba or the Seven Principles. I’m going to put special emphasis on Ujima (Collective Work and Responsibility) and Kuumba (Creativity).

It’s not just young people demanding to get paid. Some not-so young folks make the same demand. I believe it is a misguided notion, certainly influenced by neo-liberalism as to who you sell your labor to and why. Community principles and common values could help focus our energies, our efforts and even our frustrations.

Ujima is the principle that means “to build and maintain our community together and make our brother’s and sister’s problems our problems and to solve them together.” Our communities don’t always reflect the shared problem part and tend to blame the individual for their misfortunes. We need to know that most familial and community problems are rooted in systems of oppression and greed. These systems shape our thoughts and our lives in ways that many of us don’t understand. That’s how we get victimized.

I think Kuumba is one of the most profound of the Seven Principles of Kwanzaa. It states we must always do “as much as we can, in the way we can, in order to leave our community more beautiful and beneficial than we inherited it.” The world is on fire because of global warming and all of its consequences. We have not been good stewards of the earth’s resources and species. Unless there are serious course adjustments, we can expect catastrophic results in our lives. It is a humongous problem that requires all of our attention.

I believe we should all be responding to the need for human survival. Doing so requires many different responses. No one should expect to get paid for saving their hide just like they shouldn’t expect to get paid for volunteering.

You volunteer for assignments. You join a group whose mission and vision you share. You’re committed to carrying out the activities of that mission. When you join a church, you don’t expect to get paid for going to church and passing out the programs. When you join a sorority or fraternity, you don’t expect to get paid for passing out food baskets. When you join a fair housing group, you shouldn’t expect to get paid for tabling.

Small, community-based social justice orgs rely on volunteers or unpaid members to carry out their work. They may have a few paid staff to cover key areas of the organization’s functioning. These groups need members and supporters to supplement any paid staff they may have.

Let’s be clear though. These nonprofits aren’t the same as the American Red Cross or the Ronald McDonald House. These charities do public good, but they are not trying to challenge or disrupt capitalism. They have huge budgets, but they still recruit volunteers. People who share the mission and the passion sign up to help in any way they can. They choose to volunteer.

General Motors or Wells Fargo or Target may have charitable subsidiaries and ask you to volunteer. But when it comes to work — assembling a car, managing a financial portfolio or stocking shelves, that’s a job. You apply and you get paid. It may not always be the salary you want or deserve but it’s not free labor.

The notion of someone demanding money from a legitimate organization working for change is unfair and misdirected. Accusing these groups of profiteering off one’s labor or worse, calling someone a slave master is also unfair and misdirected.

We’ve got to know the difference between an organization fighting for social change and a workplace that exploits the labor of workers for profit. We have to know the difference between being a capitalist and being a worker. There is a distinctive difference between a slave, a wage earner and volunteer.

I saw an anonymous quote that puts this issue in perspective: ‘working hard for something we don’t care about is stress. Working hard for something we love is called passion.’ I vote for more passion.