There are numerous reasons why you should volunteer for a cause. The thousands of opportunities, career growth, and personal development are among benefits of volunteering. Do you know that people that are passionate about volunteering are open to thousands of opportunities? Do you know that volunteering can unlock a new phase in an individuals career? Maybe you don’t know that volunteering can take you as far as you can ever imagine. Depending on what interests you, you can be a part of one’s life, help children and elderly persons serve for the development of a community or religious body. This article explains in detail the numerous benefits of volunteering that will make you fulfilled. The table of contents below highlights why you should volunteer.
Why is volunteering important?
Volunteering seems to have become a major part of our lifestyle today. Volunteering is important because it offers crucial assistance to noble causes, less privileged, and the community at large. Due to the fact that many NGOs or charities are partly funded by the government, they are unable to afford the salaries of full-time staffs, hence, they depend on the kind gestures from volunteers often. In fact, many companies depend almost solely upon teams of volunteers to help them thrive and complete certain tasks. SEE ALSO: 17 Best Volunteering Opportunities In New York In 2022
How does volunteering help the community?
Volunteering makes a significant contribution to the global economy. Volunteering strengthen your ties to community and broadens support network. In this era where many youths are being distracted with rapid changing trends, volunteering can be a way to get them involved in community service. This in turn will make them channel their energy towards a good course. By volunteering to work with children as they learn to read, improve their math skills or prepare for college, you play a part in helping your community become better educated.In particular, a 1% increase in adults in a community is associated with a 1% decrease in the rate of kids leaving school. What’s more, studies show that children who grow up with mentors are more likely to want to become mentors themselves, and people who are more educated are more likely to give back to their own communities by volunteering. By volunteering, you can help start a positive cycle of community-building that outlasts your immediate work.
Why are volunteers important to an organization?
Involving volunteers can add great value to what your organization does and support you to achieve your mission and strategic objectives. Involving volunteers can help you to:
Engage a more diverse range of skills, experience and knowledgeReach more of your beneficiariesRaise awareness about your cause as well as your organization, its profile and what you doBuild relationships within the community in which you work and contribute to supporting others in your community. By providing volunteering opportunities you provide opportunities for social inclusion, skills development and potential routes to employment. There is also evidence that volunteering can help to improve health and well-being for individualsInform the development and delivery of your activities, projects or services by bringing in new opinions, ideas or approaches. This can help you to adapt, stay relevant to what your beneficiaries and community needs as well as identifying opportunities to improve what you doDeliver your service or projects in a more effective and efficient way which can help to save money and resources. However organizations do have to invest in supporting volunteering for this to work effectively.
What are the benefits of volunteering?
When you volunteer, you have the opportunity to make a true difference in the lives of people, animals and most of all your own life. The benefits of volunteering are classified into social, personal, and career.
Social Benefits
Whether you are introverted or an extrovert, volunteering has something for you. Some social benefits of volunteering include helping you meet new friends, increasing your social skill, providing you with a sense of community, and improving self-esteem and more.
Personal Benefits
Excitement, a sense of fulfilment, and being thankful can contribute positively to your total well-being as a person. Volunteering provides you with a sense of purpose, allows you to overcome challenges, helps you stay physically active and healthy, and it will bring fun and fulfilment into your life.
Career Benefits
Volunteering can help you boost your career. You gain a lot of soft skills and experience that can be an added advantage when you go out to seek paid jobs. Some ways you can boost your career through volunteering include, learning new and valuable skills, and build your career network, that is, you may meet people that are also in your line of interest. SEE ALSO: Volunteering Programs For High School Students In 2022
10 Benefits of Volunteering that Will Make You Fulfilled.
Many people get involved in volunteering due to many reasons, from just having fun to contributing to better living of their immediate community. The benefits associated to volunteering cannot be overemphasized, hence, we have listed 10 benefits here that we believe will make you show interest in this form of service to humanity.
#1 Develops Emotional Stability
Depression, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, low self-esteem, and even Obsessive Compulsive Disorder have all been helped by volunteering. When people with OCD, PTSD, or anger management issues volunteer, they feel more connected to others. They have an increased sense of purpose.
#2 Builds Bond, Create Friends
If you feel the need for deeper connections with other people, try volunteering. Volunteering gives room for bonding among families, friends and colleagues. Working together brings people together and makes them connect better.
#3 Volunteering Builds Community
According to the Corporation for National & Community Service, you strengthen your community and your social network when you volunteer. You make connections with the people you are helping, and you cultivate friendships with other volunteers.
#4. School and College Experience
Volunteering builds social skills and develops awareness. University students volunteer to assist incoming students with applications, and alumni volunteer to improve their job search post-graduation. Such programs benefit everyone. If you can get into a great college or accept a fantastic job offer as a result of your community service, why not? The benefits of volunteering do not have to be limited to others.
#5. Volunteering Adds Fun to Your Years
Volunteering and freely giving your time, energy, and resources to people and causes around the world can create change on a global scale. How would you feel knowing that your efforts can change the life of someone else somewhere in the world? Incredible, right? That’s a blessing on it own.
#6. Develops Corporate Community
Now, many big companies create employee volunteer programs that gives the employees the opportunity to volunteer during work hours. Companies that do this are able to attract more loyal employees and increase their client-base as well.
#7. Leads to graceful aging
We have a lot of Older volunteers also. They are able to go out of their house, move physically as a form of exercise which then result in mental health improvement and better view of life. They are able to interact with young ones, hence, they appreciate life better.
#8. Increases Socializing
According to Psychology Today, social interaction improves mental and physical health. The benefits of volunteering show up quickly and have a long-term effect. You also get to improve your immune system.
#9. Advance your career by improving job prospects
Volunteering will offer you skills that can be used throughout your career development. If you are wanting to change to a new career, especially a new environmental or social impact job, volunteering in that new field can help you develop the skills and knowledge you will need. When you have a volunteering experience to add to your resume, you stand out over job candidates who don’t take the time to give back to society. Volunteering highlights your character, passion, and determination!
#10. Take on a challenge.
Through volunteering, you can challenge yourself to try something different, achieve personal goals, practise your skills and discover hidden talents.
How much time should you volunteer?
Volunteering doesn’t have to deprive you of your normal day to day activities before it can be beneficial. There’s no need to outdo yourself. You can always choose your desired volunteering hours. However, it should not affect your job, your classes, or other goals that you’ve set for yourself.
How to get the most out of volunteering
Given the potential benefits of volunteering, how can you make sure you get the most out of what could very well be a once in a lifetime experience? Here are a few tips to help you do just that.
Step 1: Identify your goals
It’s good to know why you are getting involved in volunteering. This will help you choose a program that works well with your interest and will also open ways for you to pursue your set goals. Is there any experience you need to pursue your intended career? Are there specific skills you’d like to develop or strengthen? Would you like to make new industry contacts or expand your professional network? Once you know exactly what you’re hoping to gain from your volunteer experience, it will be easier to choose a program that will meet your needs and help you further your career.
Step 2: Be honest about your skills and experience
Avoid overstating or exaggerating your abilities just to get into the program you want or be given more responsibility early on. You could end up doing more harm than good, especially when you are in a developing environment. There is no space for experiment. With this in mind, there should be a clear distinction between the activities you’re simply interested in trying and the jobs you’re actually qualified to do.
Step 3: Keep track of everything you learn
I always advise that people develop the habit of writing things down, especially things you’ve learnt in the course of volunteering. Not only will it help you add your newly acquired skills and experience to your resume or cover letter, but it also will describe it more eloquently during job or college interviews. Write down all the tasks you’ve completed at the end of each day, as well as any training you may have received. Include what you feel you’ve learned from it and any other out of the ordinary experiences you may have had. You may also want to ask for references from your supervisors, as these could come in handy once you start applying for jobs.
Step 4: Make sure your expectations are realistic
It is far better to look at your volunteer experience as an opportunity to learn new things and strengthen your current skill set than as a chance to change the world. Research shows that the longer you stay, the more lasting your impact will be, and the more realistic your expectations, the more beneficial the program will be for everyone involved. Try to be open to tackling jobs that are less demanding or seemingly below your skill level rather than clinging to a preconceived idea of what you’ll be able to do and the impact you’ll have.
Where can you find volunteer opportunities?
There are various organizations across the globe where you can seek a volunteer opportunity depending on your area of interest, some of which will be alighted here;
#1 United Nations Volunteer
UNV arm of this international organization gives volunteers an opportunity to contribute their time, skills and knowledge to people in need of it. Basically, individuals can choose to volunteer abroad or in their country. UNV offers different volunteering opportunities to interested individuals that allows them to choose areas of specialization. This is an opportunity to create a positive impact and be a significant force for achieving peace and development. Make a difference in the lives of many!
#2 Egbele School Project
To foster education in the minds of young youths especially in local areas where they have been neglected by the government. To provide Quality Education to the children and make sure they have the required materials needed for learning. Read more: https://donate-ng.com/campaign/roof-abandoned-egbele-primary-school
#3 The Creative Kid Zone Initiative
TCKZone reaches out to thousands of kids in African communities and makes them ambassadors for technology, by organizing free training to introduce your kids to technology, coding, design, robotics, ai, game development; we are on a mission to expand creativity in as many kids as possible by training and empowering them with the technological skill set, thereby increasing the number of young minds in Tech and preparing for the Future. Read more: http://www.tckzone.com/
#4 Prekeazu Foundation
Prekeazu foundation looks to promote youth engagement, health and education. Read more: https://www.volunteermatch.org/results/opp_detail.jsp?oppid=3330634
#5 Reaching Out To Girls Initiative
We work with girls and young women to develop them through training program, mentorship and network that inspire them to become articulate, acquire skills and take action on issues that affect them. Read more: https://www.rotagif.com/
#6 Greater Hands Foundation
Our mission is to achieve sustainable economic empowerment, better health, and good governance, and gender mainstreaming through strategic approaches for the development of our communities. Read more: https://greaterhands.org/#home
Conclusion
Volunteering is an experience you don’t want to be told about. It will do you great benefit if you get involved now. Good luck from this side!
