> that one is contributing to something
I feel sorry for people who measure their self based on some consumerism yard stick, it is pathological.
I don't consider the urge to help others a negative one. But one shouldn't measure. It is doing the thing to do it for whatever your reasons are, that matters.
If I choose to build something to help a kid walk, I am contributing to many things. And yet, I may get paid nothing, and not even care.
Even if you did get paid, it doesn't take away from what you're doing.
Without an interchange of value, you can focus on the thing as the thing, instead of as a value exchange.
I mean, if you think this sums up every job everyone has, then I feel sorry for you. Many people are doing laudable work that has nothing to do with "consumerism"