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Volunteering Within the Community Throughout the last few years, many volunteer based agencies have found it increasingly difficult to find enough volunteers to carry out their many programs, especially during daytime hours. Economic pressures and changes in lifestyle and family composition have meant there are fewer volunteers available from the traditional sources that these organizations have previously relied upon. At the same time, as the government reduces funding to social, health, recreation and other services, more and more organizations are forced to rely upon more and more volunteer assistance. In times such as these, it becomes extremely important that people make time to volunteer and help the community. While this sounds like a duty, volunteering within the community will not only make a difference in someone else's life but will build confidence and self esteem within the volunteers life. A strong and common benefit enjoyed by volunteers is often the opportunity to achieve.
Volunteers receive a great deal of satisfaction from helping their communities and other people, and this is often reinforced through recognition of their volunteering achievements. Accomplishing the intended result, discovering new capabilities within oneself, and making something negative improve and turn into something positive, are only some of the compensations offered through volunteer work. Although not usually recognized as a motivation for getting involved in the first place, the opportunity to accomplish something and to see direct results from the volunteer's personal effort is was what often keeps volunteers coming back to volunteer tasks that are sometimes stressful, depressing, or otherwise difficult. Achievements through volunteer work do not even have to be enormous to be personally satisfying. Frequently, a sense of achievement can be felt simply by evoking a positive reaction from someone a volunteer is trying to help. One volunteer driver for the Cancer Society, for instance, reminisced about the joy it gave him to see a patient through a bad episode and leave him feeling more relaxed after the visit.
Among the major rewards and incentives of volunteering appears to be the opportunity for personal growth. Discovering new skills and capabilities, learning more about oneself and other people, or overcoming personal challenges are often growth opportunities that volunteers report feeling that they have taken away from the experience. Volunteers often mention being pleasantly surprised by discovering they are talented at doing things they never expected they would be able to do. From this personal growth there is often a feeling of growing self-esteem and confidence with each new challenge that is tackled and skill that is learned. Other volunteers find that their lives develop more intensity and color, as they were exposed to new experiences that would not ordinarily have come their way had they not given their time. Volunteering also provides new situations and new environments that people might not otherwise be exposed to.
If the volunteer organization managers carefully plan the activities, they can provide the right sort of challenges and experiences tailored to the individuals that are giving their time. Sometimes these come as a natural part of whatever field the organization works in, but in other cases the opportunities have to be created. For many volunteers, a desire to contribute to society underlies their commitment to volunteer work. They believe that if we want a better world to live in, it starts with you and me and our communities. Many also feel that they are making stronger community ties through volunteer involvement. Many others feel they have been fortunate in life, and want to give something back, to balance the scales, in some way.
They feel an obligation to do something for some one who wasn't as fortunate as them. One example of this is sometimes immigrants to the country; once they were established with jobs and accommodation, they feel that to give something back to the country that had welcomed them and become their own is the best way to repay the kindness they received. All of these benefits lead to a positive sense of contribution for volunteers. The family connection in volunteering is also an important issue and area for benefits. Many volunteers claim that volunteerism runs in the family, and report that they came from a family background of volunteering. They say that they grew up with the notion that it was a normal part of life, something that one did, just as one went to school and had a job.
A common excuse for not volunteering is often actually family; people claim that they do not want to spend their already meager free time away from their families. This does not have to be the case, because so many volunteer activities can provide opportunity for every member of the family to be involved, no matter their age. On the other hand, family is often a reason that volunteers begin in the first place. Some start out in volunteer work because a relative needs help, or might in the future. Some even characterized their involvement as selfish because they were working to overcome a disease or condition suffered by a family member.
For some volunteers, the human factor is the greatest benefit in volunteering. Making and meeting friends, having social links and finding a feeling of belonging gives them the incentive to continue with their organization. Those with high-stress volunteer assignments find that it is import ant to have the support of staff and other volunteers, and many appreciate knowing that the organization or the people that it helping support and acknowledges them. As one woman who volunteers with a cancer charity stated, I've only been there for six months now, but already I've got cards and personal letters from them. Volunteers often feel a great sense of camaraderie and of something shared, even when they have never met each other before. They have the opportunity to do informal networking and shoptalk, and enjoy hearing about each others' experiences.
They can exchange experiences, suggested reading material, proposed solutions to each other's problems and discover acquaintances in common. Thus far we have discussed benefits to the average person who decides to commit time and energy to volunteering. Another more specific group that can benefit greatly from volunteer activities are people who have been laid off from their jobs. Volunteering can provide the needed personal boost that these individuals require to get back their positive attitudes and personal confidence. It will give them a great feeling by doing something to help others, and it will also broaden their networking base, which could lead to permanent, full-time employment.
If they choose to volunteer with a larger and more funded organization, then their volunteer job sometimes has the possibility of turning into a permanent, paid position. Volunteer work may also make them stand out from the other applicants if they list it on their resume, helping them regain employment. An employer may be quite impressed to see that the individual is interested in making his or her community a better place to live and work. Sometimes volunteer work also provides more of the skills an employer is looking for than the paid work experiences that he or she had before. The adjective "volunteer" does not fully convey the work that is really accomplished; people can exercise a wide variety of skills, such as counseling, or marketing.
These volunteers can highlight the skills they learned and show what skills would be important to the working world. They may have written grants, done fundraising, consulted for businesses, worked as an administrative assistant, or a wide variety of other activities. Learning by doing now often called service learning can offer skill-building opportunities. Most of us also have heard of people who capitalized on skills they learned as a volunteer to get a promotion or a better job.
Listing these things can be the important move that helps them get back into the workforce. Volunteering at home, work or in the community can also be a good way to bolster self confidence and improve people skills, and it usually offers an opportunity to practice planning, organizational and decision-making skills as well as an opportunity to work as a member of a team and get acquainted with others who may have similar interests or goals. Volunteering can also be beneficial for parents and children. Volunteering at school or school events can also help parents and children get acquainted with other parents and children who have similar interests. Volunteering to work on a playground or park project is likely to draw interest from others in the neighborhood who will have a continuing interest in maintaining the playground or park or seeking improvements. Volunteer opportunities also can bring families together, through participating in a community clean-up, recycling effort, food pantry collection drive, or serving a community / holiday meal together.
Modeling citizenship sets a good example for children and other adults, but it goes farther than that. Volunteering can also be a vital activity in rehabilitating troubled young people. Youth want to feel a part of their community. For that to happen, communities must treat their youth with respect and be responsive to their needs.
Teen centers, skateboard parks, arenas and pools, are just a few volunteer places that communities can help youth to create positive attachments in the community. Some youth are drawn into criminal behaviour out of boredom and lack of something positive to do. Recreation and leisure activities such as sports, music, clubs, theatre, and teen centres not only keep kids busy, they provide youth with a wealth of skills, positive social interactions, and meaningful activities. In the same way, getting troubled youth involved in volunteer activities can help them turn their lives in the right directions.
They can introduce concepts such as teamwork, cooperation, conflict resolution and so on. Youth, who are not doing well in school, can build self-esteem and confidence when they excel in another area like helping out at the local animal shelter or visiting seniors. Not all families can afford recreational and leisure programs. Communities must support a range of affordable and accessible recreational, leisure and volunteer programs for youth, as well as help involve them in volunteering.
Finally, one growing area that volunteer work is appearing is the corporate world. Volunteer work as an office team increases employee morale, camaraderie, job satisfaction and organizational commitment. It also develops employee skills including leadership development and team building while enhancing employee pride about the company as a participant of a progressive program that has a direct and ongoing impact in the community. While working side by side in volunteer activities, there is an increase in understanding of co-workers, respect for diversity and an enrichment in a sense of community and social obligation as employees are exposed to different communities and neighborhoods. From a public relations standpoint, corporate based volunteer work increases company visibility as a good corporate neighbor through the expression of a company's commitment to a strong and healthy community.
It also provides a unique way to leverage corporate philanthropy and provide employees an opportunity to be part of the community impact. While building huge teamwork and skill benefits in employees, companies have the chance to prove their moral and ethical commitment to both a cause, as well as the community where they are working. As we have seen, volunteer work can be incredibly beneficial not only to the communities and organizations in which it takes place, but also to the individuals who give their time, skills, and efforts. It can build positive feelings and self image in everyday people, help families build and encourage strong character in their children, provide a stepping stone back into the working world for people who have been laid off, and allow corporations the chance to build teamwork in their employees while maintaining a good public face.
No matter the individual situation, volunteer work can provide enormous benefits to anyone who gets involved. References Business Services. web Received on October 20, 2005. Chambre, Susan. Good Deeds. Lexington, Mass: Lexington Books, 1987.
Corporate Partners. web Taken on October 20, 2005. Kotler, Philip. Corporate Social Responsibility. New York: Wiley Press, 2005. Landes, Michael.
The back door guide to short term job adventures. Berkeley: Ten Speed Press, 1997. Morris, Kent. Helping is Knowing. Pittsburgh: Camper & Bennett, 1982. Putnam, Robert.
Bowling Alone: Collapse and Revival of American Community. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2000. Volunteer Service Project. U. S. Newswire Magazine.
August 1 st, 2005. Williams, Mary. How to use volunteering on a resume. Energize Magazine. September, 2005. Women, Marie.
Finding the Colour: Interviews with the Community. London: Freedom Independent, 1967.
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