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Originally Posted by Shirobane
Sorry for the cynical point of view, but volunteerism is never selfless. A good majority of people who volunteer do so for career advancement or exposure. This fact is prevalent in social cities where resumes can only get you so far. The idea of selfishness in volunteering extends all the way down to those that do it for that "warm and fuzzy feeling". No one else benefits from that feeling except for that one person who volunteered their time. However, the by-product of all this greed and selfishness is that a few unfortunate people are aided.
The important thing is not wether or not selfishness played a part in her aiding those in need, but that she didn't want all that hard work and determination to go to waste and that's all she saw. Like VCV said, she didn't know this action would have actively helped someone. Up until this point, her actions have produced resistance and dismay from those around her. Thus explains her unease for recieving praise for her actions.
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The specific term is called "altruism".... the idea is that volunteering or providing aid/assistance/charity is a "win-win" because a cooperative society means that when *YOU* might need help down the road someone will be there. There's also the more immediate "win-win" where volunteering means your scorecard looks better for applying for whatever you're trying to achieve. My observation is that even most in that category will go past the minimum out of a sense of altruistic obligation. There is a certain percentage of the population that is purely manipulative, uncaring, and generally worthless --- but we usually end up making them leaders, bosses, and politicians
