The huge impact of volunteerism can be felt in communities all over the world no matter their shape or size. Volunteering does a lot of good. Most times, you can see the impact of giving your time immediately. By helping improve your community you’re also helping yourself. Volunteering always exists to help people. Many folks think volunteering is just about stuffing envelopes in a messy office.
While there is nothing wrong with this, there is much more to the world of volunteering. Volunteering can include the roles of mentoring, serving food at a soup kitchen, participating in decision making as a nonprofit board member, and writing grants. Here are a few steps you can take to ensure you find a volunteer opportunity that fits your specific need to help others:
·
Know What You
Want To Get Out Of It: Giving
is at the core of volunteering, but many of us also want to get something out
of our experiences volunteering. Perhaps you want to learn more about a cause
and connect with new people. Maybe you want get some hands-on experience in a
new field like fundraising or strategic planning.
Perhaps you’re interested in a major issue in your community.
These different motivations will push you toward different kinds of
opportunities and organizations. If you want to help your neighborhood food
pantry stock its shelves for the winter, check with them about ways you can
help.
·
Know What You
Want To Give: A
big mistake that I hear volunteers make is saying that they “just want to get
involved.” Well, in what way? Are you really good at writing and want to help an
organization take its communications to new heights? Do you love canvassing for
a good cause?
Perhaps you prefer helping out behind the scenes with things
like mailings (tapping into your love for organizing and straightforward tasks).
Knowing what you want to give, like knowing what you want to get, will allow
you to determine whether or not the opportunity will be a great fit.
·
Know What You
Can Commit: We often have
an initial rush of excitement about volunteering that might cause us to
over-commit. If you’ve never really volunteered before, going all in with a
weekly assignment that lasts for three months might be too much. This is
especially the case with volunteer opportunities that are more direct service
like mentoring, serving food, and so on.
There is often prep work that needs to be done, travel, and
other elements that affect the total amount of time you’ll spend volunteering. In
many cases, you can always start small and ask to get more involved later. This
is better than starting off with a large commitment and backing down later on,
leaving the organization without the appropriate volunteer staff.
·
Know What’s Out
There: Sometimes
the best way to find an opportunity is to simply see what kinds of
opportunities are available. I encourage people who aren’t quite sure of what
kind of volunteer work they want to do to collect a variety of job descriptions
and sort them by interest in the organization. Take a look at Idealist.org or
Catchafire and peruse what’s available. What speaks to you and why?
·
Know Who’s Out
There: Ask
people about their experiences volunteering. Why do they volunteer? Where? How
often? What makes it worthwhile for them? Can you follow them to see what they
are working on? Focusing into your network will you give the knowledge you need
to find a volunteer opportunity you’ll love.
“Volunteering is at the very core of being a
human. No one has made it through life without someone else’s help.” (Heather
French Henry)[i]
[i] Sources used:
·
“5 Things You Should Know
Before You Volunteer “By Allison
Jones
·
“8 Long-Term Health Benefits of Volunteering”
by Claire Shinn
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