Every Reason Counts and Every Volunteer Matters
Volunteering is for everyone, and everyone is different. People volunteer for all kinds of reasons and all of them are valid. This week we delve into some of these reasons to hopefully help you to discover your purpose for volunteering.
The obvious reason to give your time and energies to a voluntary cause is to help others, and for many people this is the only motivation that is needed, but sometimes a little more is needed and it’s ok!
At the Volunteer Centre we will regularly meet people who will apologise for wanting to volunteer for what they consider to be ‘selfish’ reasons. They will say things like “I want to help others, of course I do, but I need to do this because I’m looking for paid work”. Or they might have a volunteering requirement on a course of study that they are doing. As I said at the start, all reasons for volunteering are valid. It is just as important that the volunteer gets something from the experience as it is that the organisation engaging the volunteer gets the support that they are looking for.
Volunteering can be great for your CV, so if you are looking for paid work it can be a timely stepping stone into employment. Not only can you fill gaps in a CV with volunteering, but you can also pick up new skills, gain valuable new references, and occasionally (though rarely) be in the right place at the right time to apply for a job with the organisation you’re volunteering for.
Lots of people volunteer to make new friends, or widen their social connections. Maybe you’re new to the area, or perhaps you’ve just found yourself a little isolated. Volunteering can introduce you to a range of new people with similar interests and these connections can lead to even more new opportunities and experiences.
And because of that social element to volunteering, it can also be a great way to practice your English language skills if English is not your first language! Many people, from refugees and asylum seekers, to international students, use volunteering for just this purpose.
So if you’re looking for ways to achieve something in your life, consider whether volunteering might help with whatever it is. The end result might not be primarily volunteering related, but volunteering can certainly be helpful in more ways than just the obvious!
