When did you last do something?
Coming off a weekend where I experienced first hand the life-changing aspects that volunteering can have on a small community, got me thinking…
Every community event, sporting match, school concert, even the Olympic Games would not be possible without people raising their hand to help out.
Becoming a volunteer, not only changes your life but often the effects on the lives of others will be ongoing.
Why should I volunteer?
While volunteering may seem like a thankless and selfless act, on the contrary, this can offer many opportunities – meet likeminded people, adding special skills to your repertoire and experiencing new things. In my own experience, I have been able to meet many people (including my other half) that ordinarily I would not have the opportunity to speak with. This has in fact opened up even more volunteering opportunities and contacts to assist in the projects that I am personally passionate about.
Where do I start?
Start in your own circle. What things are you interested in? If you play a sport, show up early to help set up or put your hand up to help the grassroots programs. You do not have to throw yourself in to the committee ring first up as there are always little things that need to be done for every event or organisation.
But I don’t play well with others
In every group of people, there will inevitably be the odd person that you do not get along with – we all learned this during our school days.
Stay calm and volunteer in the knowledge that for the most part, everyone has the same goal to make the event/school/sport flourish.
Who knows, you may even learn new ways to do things from turning a sausage to completing grant applications.
In a nutshell…
Unfortunately, in this keyboard warrior age we live in, many people are quick to criticize anything, but not too many are willing to give things a go and make a difference. Even when events are a proven success, there will always be the people that only see the shortfalls as failures and not learning curves.
Stop complaining, become a volunteer and BE THE CHANGE YOU WANT TO SEE – Gandhi.
Still not sure where to start? Search for volunteers needed in your local area HERE
– Karen Patterson
