Volunteering your precious free time to help worthy causes is a really noble undertaking. You won’t earn big bucks, but there are plenty of other ways that becoming a volunteer could be of value. In celebration of National Volunteer Week, we’re going to take a look at some of the ways volunteering can benefit you.
Learn new skills
No matter where you decide to volunteer, there will always be an element of learning and training. While the skills may seem basic or trivial, they could be essential building blocks for future careers.
For example, if you’re collecting, organising, and distributing donations from school fundraisers, you might be learning more than you think about finances, budgeting, and inventory. These skills are useful in almost all jobs – not to mention how they can help in your day-to-day life too.
Then there are the other skills that you might not even realise you’re building, like communication, teamwork, independence, problem-solving, and customer service – the list goes on and on.
Give your resume a boost
Adding a few more lines to your resume can never hurt. Showing commitment to community efforts, or any kind of voluntary work, will speak volumes about your personality to potential employers. If you’re happy to keep showing up without getting paid, this shows you’re dedicated and motivated; qualities that any employer will look favourably on.
Help you stand out in admissions
When you’re applying for further study, chances are you’ll be up against a lot of other applicants. Some might have higher grades than you, and some may have relevant work experience.
So how will you stand out? What you choose to do outside of the classroom could make all the difference.
Volunteering is a great way to show you care about others, and that you can manage your time well enough to balance your volunteer work with your other commitments.
Form connections
Volunteering is a great way to meet people you wouldn’t have encountered otherwise. Those people could become friends, mentors, or your inspiration. The more you get involved with projects outside your school, the wider you’re casting your net. You’ll end up with more contacts that could be helpful in providing you with paid work, work experience, or references.
If you already know what you want to study after school, try finding volunteer opportunities in those areas. For example, if you’re interested in politics, see if you can volunteer with your local politician. There’s every chance your volunteer experience could help you in your future endeavours.
Grow as a person
When you’re at high school, chances are you’re operating within a fairly limited social circle. You’ll be engaging with your family, school friends, teachers, and possibly a few friends outside of school.
Volunteering can introduce you to new situations and ideas – potentially really different to what you’ve known up until now. This could:
- Increase your confidence
- Teach you to communicate more effectively with different people
- Help you become a better listener
- Encourage you to explore your personal strengths and weaknesses
- Make you more aware of and active about social justice issues
Improve your health
Studies have shown that volunteering could contribute to improved mental and physical health. Increasing your physical activity, providing a sense of purpose, kicking goals, achieving good things, and helping others solve problems are all ways volunteering can improve your wellbeing. You could feel happier, have higher self-esteem, and get fitter as well.
Benefit your community
When you volunteer, you’re not only benefiting yourself; you’re having a positive impact on lots of other people around you too. You might be helping an individual or organisation, giving back to your community, and even contributing to the wealth and health of a nation.
When you realise the true benefits of your actions, you might feel humbled – and you should definitely feel proud of your contribution.
Find a volunteering position that works for you
While it has lots of upsides, volunteering is a big responsibility, so it’s OK if you’re not ready to commit yourself straight away.
Before you say yes to any opportunity, make sure you know how much time and effort you’ll need to put in, then decide if it’s something that you can fit around your other responsibilities (and that it’s something you’d actually like to do).
Asking around at your school, local sports club, or other community organisations are all great places to start. Alternatively, you can even find opportunities to volunteer online if there’s nothing suitable near you.
Find out more
If you want to learn more about the ways volunteering can benefit you, or other ways you can build skills and grow, you can read more on our website here.