I know what you mean

Lizzie, it's funny to read your blog because I went through the exact same thing. I was asked to be on the board of a homeless shelter for battered women, something I really wanted to help out with. I attended some of these meetings and quickly realized it was less about helping the people and more about social gatherings and showing off about who you knew and how much money you could raise. It ended up that you never got to work with the people and it just didn't feel as good as if you volunteered. Anyway, I wrote them a letter too and 'respectfully declined'. Probably a good decision Lizzie. Better to volunteer to help children learn how to read.