The Virtues of Volunteering

People volunteer for a variety of reasons. We all know that volunteering is a noble thing to do with our time, but did you know it could be fun? The first time I volunteered I just wanted something on my resume for college. The next time I wanted to give something back to the community, and since I had absolutely no money, I chose to give my time. I've volunteered in order to help people, to help myself, and to help the world around me, and I've even volunteered because I knew it would be fun.

By volunteering we can lend our skills to making the world a better place, more like the world WE want to live in. We can also get experience in skills we don't normally use. And the best part is, anyone can volunteer. It doesn't matter what skills you have or don't have. If you have a desire to help and the willingness to learn, you can volunteer. I've worked alongside ten year old children that grabbed my wing and led me up the stairs. (I played woodsy the owl in a litter prevention program, and its extremely hard to see stairs and railings through the big yellow hat.), and retired ladies that did much needed office work for a battered women's shelter. Mary Kathyrn Von Eerden of the Green Seas program of the Nature conservancy says her favorite part of the job is the people she gets to work with and their varied backgrounds. She works with retired bankers, college students, scientists, and other volunteers to keep the Nature conservancy's mission of preserving critical habitats.

Wondering what you can give to an environmental organization? Contrary to popular belief you do not need to be a biologist to help them. Often they need clerical and general office work the most. Anyone with the willingness to learn can help them there. Think of the skills you have, just as though you were updating your resume. Can you type or file? Are you good at organizing projects and people? Are you good on the phone or do you have sales experience? Do you cook, sew, or do crafts? Any of these can skills can help a volunteer organization.

Just like any other business, they need people to do the filing, phoning, selling (usually this means getting donations), writing, cleaning, not to mention the special events like fund raising craft and bake sales, charity drives that need organizing, and programs that need manual labor like adopt-a-highway programs, or tree planting efforts.

Go To Page: 1 2

Articles in this Topic    Discussions in this Topic