I worked for half a summer as a canvasser for MontPIRG and it was the worst experience of my life. They weren't entirely upfront about the job nor were they honest about the pay. We were canvassing clean air legislation. I was dropped one time in the heart of a neighborhood where all the higher ups in the refinery lived. The cops were called on me within five houses and I was escorted out of the neighborhood and left to sit until it was time to regroup (this was before cell phones and I was in a town I was utterly unfamiliar with and had a bad reputation for Montana). When I was picked up, I was chastised for not making a bigger deal out of it, for not causing a ruckus and getting a tv crew out. That was when I decided my social conscious could be satisified volunteering in my community.

Do not let your experience with PIRG reflect on other organizations who value their staff and their efforts. I am sorry you were treated so poorly.

Trust me, they're all the same. I never actually canvassed for PIRG, though I did do office work for them, but it was the same story at all the other organizations I canvassed for in college. As a job, it sucked, but I did it as a lifestyle choice--all my friends were doing it, and it allowed us to stay out all night and sleep late in the mornings and go to work in the afternoons. When I give money to door-to-door canvassers, it's with the understanding that I'm donating to the canvasser, not the organization.

Pmoriarty:

Do not let your experience with PIRG reflect on other organizations who value their staff and their efforts. I am sorry you were treated so poorly.

I try not to group the groups all into one lump but I have had friends do America Corps, Teach For America, and Greenpeace and our stories were all similiar. Now it's entirely probable that we weren't as dedicated as we thought, but the level of deception experienced is enough to break the heart of the most devoted individual.