I somewhat regularly perform benevolent acts.  I never perform acts of "community service."  I hate the term "community" because, by definition, those people that form the "community" live under the thumb of the government.  People are sentenced to community service for stepping out of line with the local oligarchs.

I think that you should engage in benevolent acts, and not community service.  Maybe there is a benevolent society which helps some needy group of people in your area.

Yeah, shying as much away from collectivist terms as possible.  Benevolent acts is a much better term because it can never imply duty.

If you consider yourself an objectivist, and wish to follow Ayn Rand's philosophies, first keep in mind that We the Living was a first attempt at her philosophy and in her later years she did not like We the Living, because it did not portray her philosophy properly.  So, if you're concerned with what Ayn Rand would think on the subject look at Atlas Shrugged.  And in her ideal society set in the mountains where the elders would take on apprentices and teach them despite the fact that it was not monetarily prudent to do so.  The payoff in helping other humans is paid in mental well-being.  If you keep in mind that it makes YOU feel good to help others, then there is no conflict of ideals here.  You are volunteering your time because you feel you are a benefit to someone else, and you get satisfaction from that.  That is a quite Libertarian and Objectivist philosophy.

Also, while I understand the annoyance of the self-righteous people you find in volunteer groups. Have patience with them.  Keep in mind that their hearts are in the right place.  This is an opportunity to educate.  My suggestion is to go and give of yourself first, and keep your mouth shut about your ideals.  Let them decide they like you, and accept you as one of them, and then you may start explaining to them the fallacies in their logic. 

If you're inclined to do volunteer work, do it.  Don't let the reasons you posted above stop you.  Also, make sure you find something you love doing. If you volunteer on your own terms, and don't ever feel as if you have to, you will always enjoy it and find satisfaction in it.

I was familar with that fact about We the Living;  there were a couple things I noticed that didn't seem to fall in line with what I read from Fountainhead and the Virtue of Selfishness, a couple traits in Kira that I couldn't figure out(such as the lack of a pride element).

I'll look back into what exactly I can do.  Thanks for the input

I would like to see a libertarian youth organization that would be an alternative to the Boy/Girl Scouts, 4H and various other clubs. From my early teens through my twenties I was heavily involved with a 4H group and I've made many life long friends out of it but I look back and I wished that it didn't have so many statist and socialist leanings. I was all about the 4H pledge back when I was a good little citizen and when I look at it now I just shake my head.