Volunteerism is a valuable asset for any organization. They help bring in donations, give back to the community, and can offer new perspectives on projects. This blog post will discuss ways you can increase volunteerism in your organization.
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What Is Volunteerism?
Volunteerism is when people do unpaid work for a non-profit or charity. It also refers to the act of volunteering, which can be done on an individual basis or with other volunteers. There are many reasons why people get involved in volunteer efforts. You might want to help others or give back. You might need volunteer hours for high school, college, or work requirements.
Reasons For Volunteerism
There are some great reasons for volunteerism:
Helps Others Or Give Back
Volunteering is a great way to meet new people. It can also grow your social circle by spending time with peers outside of the classroom. You can also build new skills during this process! If you are looking for ways to network within an organization, volunteering will allow you access to different areas. This is where there may be positions available later on down the road that interest you. Another benefit of meeting like-minded individuals is that they likely have similar values as yourself. This means they would make good influences in your life (i.e., friendship).
Gains Valuable Experience
Depending on the organization you are volunteering with, there may be opportunities to gain valuable work experience. If this is something you would like to pursue in your future career field and it interests you, do some research about what positions might interest you. These are within that particular institution or non-profit. You could even ask while interacting with their professionals if they have any upcoming job openings so that way when volunteerism ends for them at a certain time, perhaps just before an opening occurs, then they will remember how great of a worker/volunteer you were.
This can ultimately lead to helping get your foot in the door somewhere where otherwise no one knew who “you” were prior. Or maybe getting involved as a volunteer can help you determine if this is an area of work that isn’t for you. This will save time and energy. Either way, it’s a win-win situation.
Gains Confidence And Self-Esteem
While helping others or being involved in community service may not be your cup of tea at first, the process itself could lead to overcoming some personal barriers/fears about who “you” are as a person. Volunteering has been known to build one’s confidence and self-esteem within themselves. It is because one was able to contribute positively towards another individual(s) life or society around them. This type of growth on an emotional level would definitely benefit someone on their path towards success down the road. This is whether career-wise or in their personal life.
Builds Resume
Using volunteerism as a stepping stone towards other opportunities is beneficial to not only yourself but also future employers. This is because they will be able to see your work ethic and dedication. This is while you were volunteering somewhere, which can translate well into the type of worker “you” will likely make for them within their company/institution/non-profit organization. Even if this isn’t where you ultimately end up working or what profession you may have chosen, it’s still an experience that shows strength on an individual level. If nothing else, at least list any volunteer work under relevant activities on your resume just so there aren’t blank spaces if anyone were to ask about the said activity(ies).
Makes New Friends
Volunteering is a great way to meet new people and grow your social circle. This is by spending time with peers outside of the classroom. You can also build new skills during this process! If you are looking for ways to network within an organization, volunteering will allow you access to different areas where there may be positions available later on down the road that interest you. Another benefit of meeting like-minded individuals is that they likely have similar values as yourself which means they would make good influences in your life (i.e., friendship).
Uses As Form Of Therapy
It’s been known from many health professionals including psychologists/therapists throughout history volunteering has been used as a form of therapy in order to increase positive feelings and thoughts within one’s self. This feeling can help with coping mechanisms in the future when dealing with hardships or stressors that may arise down the road in life, whether it be work-related or personal. It is also a great way for someone who was never able to get involved before due to family obligations/work schedules since their free time will no longer be consumed by these demands which leave more room for other things such as volunteering opportunities.
Builds Strong Network
You are likely not going into volunteerism expecting some sort of payoff right away but you never know what opportunities could come your way if you put yourself out there enough times while helping others through this process. Who knows, maybe you will meet someone who currently works in the field of your dreams while volunteering which means they could potentially be a future employer or can give you advice/insight to help get there. Or maybe, just maybe, this person has some connections that could open up doors for you down the road when it comes time to look for other opportunities within the workforce.
Works On Resiliency
As mentioned previously about overcoming personal barriers and fears through volunteerism may lead towards stronger emotional growth on an individual level but also shows resiliency as well because one was able to push past initial obstacles before becoming involved with something positive such as community service or helping others out. This is beneficial especially during these times where individuals are only looking at job candidates that are resilient to both failure and/or obstacles within the work environment.
How To Increase Volunteerism?
There are many ways you can increase volunteerism in your life right now, no matter what the circumstances may be. For example:
- Find local community service opportunities through organizations like Hands-On Central NC (HOCNC)
- Check with your high school to see if they offer any community or volunteer services programs/requirements for graduation
- Utilize free time throughout the week. These are such as after work hours or on weekends. This is instead of wasting it away by simply relaxing at home and catching up on social media accounts etc. It is because this could potentially help out someone else who is struggling more than you currently are which gives one’s self-purpose rather than “to just pass time”
- Make a list of all activities that interest you and write down how you could possibly fit in volunteering opportunities within these activities.
- Find a volunteer opportunity that fits your schedule and interests best for the long term.
Benefits of Volunteerism
These are some of the benefits of volunteerism:
Improves Communication Skills
When volunteering, one is able to communicate with other people on a higher level. It also helps to learn how to be more effective when it comes down to expressing conflicting ideas/opinions within the workplace. This skill would benefit anyone in any line of work. This is because you never know what challenges may come your way and these skills will help overcome them faster than if you didn’t have this knowledge beforehand.
Builds Confidence
Not only does volunteerism improve communication skills but also builds up confidence levels at the same time. This makes for perfect resume-worthy material that could potentially land someone their dream job someday. This is no matter where they are currently working or not. That’s because employers want individuals who can look past initial obstacles. This is before involving in something positive such as volunteering. This shows emotional growth through resiliency. That is why you never know what doors may open up for the future within your career.
Increases Social Networks
This is beneficial especially during these times where individuals are only looking at job candidates. They are resilient to both failure and/or obstacles within the work environment. This is because employers want someone they can rely on or even call when they need help with various projects throughout their business, etc. This further increases social networks among employees when it comes down to networking opportunities. These opportunities are whether it’s informal (e.g. lunch) or more professional (e.g. meetings). And people would much rather hire an individual who has a solid network of relationships already in place. This is because it makes the work environment much easier to navigate. This is when you have a support system already in place that can help guide and show you which paths may lead towards success.
Helps To Improve The Community
Volunteering makes for a more positive community in general. This is because it helps to improve one’s quality of life. That is why so many individuals are involved with helping out others, whether they know them or not. This concept can be applied within the workplace as well where employees show appreciation towards each other by continually working together throughout various projects without having any selfish motives whatsoever because this improves morale among everyone and ultimately results in effective teamwork that benefits both parties equally.
Increases Self-Esteem & Confidence
When you help someone else, your self-esteem will undoubtedly increase at the same time since you’ll feel good knowing that you’ve helped another individual who was struggling – especially when people don’t appreciate what little things mean to them on a day-to-day basis.
Builds Sense Of Self-Worth
Volunteering can make all the difference in someone’s life and increases their self worth by building a sense of accomplishment upon them when they help others without expecting anything in return – especially if it was something important to that person such as helping an individual complete a project for work, etc., which makes them feel like “it wasn’t all for nothing” where things do matter at the end of the day rather than just passing time for no apparent reason whatsoever. That’s because every little thing counts within our lives so you never know when your actions will have long-lasting effects on people either personally or professionally depending on what type of volunteer opportunities are given to us at the moment.
Increases Creativity
This is especially true in professional settings where employees are able to work with one another and come up with creative marketing strategies that could help grow their business whether it’s within a local or national scale. This can be beneficial for everyone who is involving. This is when it comes down to expanding opportunities by working together as a team. This is rather than going at everything alone, etc. It is because this will open doors to new ideas that otherwise may not have been discovered. This is without having such an open mind about different concepts altogether.
Conclusion
Volunteering is an excellent way to give back. In fact, the word “volunteer” means a person who performs a service without pay. It’s also one of the best ways to enrich yourself and create more meaning in your life. We all have selfish motives for volunteering: we want more time off from work, we need some new skills on our resume, or we’re looking for some good karma points as part of our spiritual practice. But, there are many other great reasons why you should become a volunteer too.
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