Why am I wasting time in volunteering and Community Service?

This and more such questions are posed to me, by several people including my wife.

• Why are you working for this community? 
• Why can't someone else do that work? 
• Son is in 12th std. That time you are wasting in community service, you can spend with him to help him study. 
• Why are you wasting time on people who don't care?

Several times, I've also wondered, Am I wasting my time by trying to do the impossible. We've been working for over 3 yrs now on several aspects of our life at GC and it feels like we've not made that much progress. Most of the major points to be done by the builder are still not completed. And to top it all, we seem to be fighting a never-ending battle among residents itself, sapping our already limited time and energy. Basic safety, security and health aspects are not addressed adequately by the administrators who seem to be waiting for a disaster to strike so they can get into a panicky reaction mode.

In spite of having nothing much to show for these years of work, why am I continuing to waste time and bouncing back into the fray each time after taking a break?

The answer I realise is not so easy to articulate.

1. When something is going wrong and there is even one thing I can do, to contribute to its betterment, I tend to jump in to volunteer. - Not a good trait, for me.
2. I want to live in a community where my kids can run around and play safely. Wife and family can live and move about safely. And I can travel outside without worrying about the safety of the home and family. If I have to contribute to building the systems for that, then I should. 
3. If my complex is suffering from lack of proper roads, clean potable water from a piped source, signages and systems for smooth functioning and I need to help to push it along, then I end up spending time in volunteering. Again bad for me and my time availability.
4. If the builder has cheated me and others like me, and we need to band together to get our dues and no one else is pushing it along, then I feel like jumping in to do it.

I am doing this for myself since I want the above things. People are mistaking it for selfless and charitable work. When I believe my time needs to be put elsewhere, I decide to take a break here and go after the other priorities. This again is my choice. Isn't it?

No one needs to acknowledge or pay tribute to me for doing this. At the same time no one has a right to find fault with me when I choose to stop doing volunteering work.

I've not signed up for any post or term for me to run the course.

I can choose when to give time and when not to give any more time. I don't need to explain to anyone the reason for the same. 

Volunteers don't need excessive praise or excessive antagonism. A kind word of acknowledgement of their efforts is a huge plus. Otherwise a respectful silence would be much appreciated too. 

It's time people acknowledged that volunteering is not a sacrifice but a choice. And that choice can only be taken by the individual and we don't need to praise them or criticize them for it.