The community you volunteer within is also great to learn from as they are from different background with a different mindset.
As a volunteer, you choose to invest your efforts into a community and the people who live in it. If only everyone did something so selfless.
Being involved with any organization will endow you with great work experience. If you help in the administration side of things then you will no doubt learn loads about people, planning and the running of an organization.
Getting stuck into a volunteering experience sees your personal growth shoot through the roof. Often volunteers decide to get involved with NGOs because they want to give back to the community they know and love. If an organization has helped someone that you love, then giving back in the form of volunteering is an extremely generous, thoughtful, valuable way to show appreciation.
Volunteers are the ones who bring a great sense of teamwork and camaraderie to an organization. Every volunteer can make a difference. No matter how small your steps are, you have the potential to make a big difference!
Volunteering Solutions has a wide range of incredible and affordable volunteering opportunities for high school and college students, gap year travelers and backpackers, senior volunteers and enthusiastic couples — who can join us and contribute towards making a meaningful difference!
And the better you feel about yourself, the more likely you are to have a positive view of your life and future goals. Volunteering combats depression. Reducing the risk of depression is another important benefit of volunteering. A key risk factor for depression is social isolation. Working with pets and other animals has also been shown to improve mood and reduce stress and anxiety. Volunteering helps you stay physically healthy.
Studies have found that those who volunteer have a lower mortality rate than those who do not, even when considering factors like the health of the participants. Volunteering has also been shown to lessen symptoms of chronic pain or heart disease. I have limited mobility—can I still volunteer? Whether due to a lack of transportation, time constraints, a disability or other reasons, many people prefer to volunteer via phone or computer.
There are many projects where you can help. If you think home-based volunteering might be right for you, contact organizations you like and ask what some of the possibilities might be. Some volunteer organizations may require you to attend an initial training or periodical meetings.
You also want to make sure that you are getting enough social contact, and that the organization is available to support you should you have questions. Helping others kindles happiness, as many studies have demonstrated. When researchers at the London School of Economics examined the relationship between volunteering and measures of happiness in a large group of American adults, they found the more people volunteered, the happier they were, according to a study in Social Science and Medicine.
Volunteering offers you the chance to try out a new career without making a long-term commitment. It is also a great way to gain experience in a new field. Your volunteer work might also expose you to professional organizations or internships that could be of benefit to your career. There are tens of thousands of nonprofit organizations in the United States with volunteering opportunities ranging from health care and mental health, to sports, to politics, to childhood development.
Here are some tips to start finding the right volunteer opportunity for you:. Here are some things to consider as you search for your next volunteer opportunity. First and foremost, consider how much time you can give. If you can only give an hour a month—great. When volunteering as a part of a team, you should make sure you can commit the time you are promising.
Making reasonable timeframes will help you settle in for the long-term. And being upfront about your time constraints will help you avoid disappointing anyone counting on you and your volunteer efforts. Also, consider your physical capabilities. Do you have constraints that will make certain tasks difficult? Be honest with yourself about what you are comfortable with accomplishing.
I have found that most nonprofit organizations are very happy to accommodate volunteers who have special requests and needs if you are upfront with them about your limitations.
Another thing to mull over is what kind of skills you already possess. What skills or experience could be helpful to the nonprofit you are working with? If you know accounting, help them get their books in order. Organizations will LOVE getting this kind of expertise that they would usually have to pay top dollar for. Next, think about where your interests lie and what kind of field would you want to explore.
Do you like working with animals? Want to learn more about farming and agriculture? Interested in learning to compost? Do you enjoy playing with children? Spending time with the elderly? Would you want to learn how to help refugees? Deciding what kind of organization you would like to work with first will help you bring enthusiasm and excitement to your volunteer experience. Are you interested in working outside of your home country? Do you have the time and finances to travel?
Would you rather stay close to home where you might not have to spend money to volunteer? Consider again what might work best for you. Volunteering abroad tends to be expensive and time-consuming, which may or may not be something you are prepared to do. Plus there are many opportunities right in our own communities!
But if you want to do work to save the oceans for instance, and you live in the mountains of Colorado, your local community may not have the right opportunity for you.
In that case, you will want to search outside of your hometown. Make sure that if you are considering volunteering abroad, that you work only with a reputable organization that you can verify necessary information about what to expect before you leave home.
There are some amazing opportunities to combine your travel with volunteering. Companies like Have Fun Do Good provide the opportunity to do purposeful travel, arranging for your trip to be structured around a service project. Learn more about how these travel experiences incorporate volunteer projects in our interview with the Founder of Have Fun Do Good, Adam Kunes! Kind Traveler and Discover Corps also allow you to take your impact beyond your hometown. Or, maybe you prefer saving sea turtles on a visit to Costa Rica?
The possibilities are endless!
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