Why Volunteer?

Volunteers are more than just a college sports team. Volunteers are people willing to donate their time to participate in a non-paying activity. So in rough economic times like these, why partake in an altruistic activity and receive no pay when you could be spending your time at a job making money?

A job may provide you with some financial security (or in my case some extra summer cash) volunteering can satisfy you in different ways. Volunteering provides an opportunity to learn--not only about yourself (your strengths and weaknesses) but also about other people you are working with.

As a junior in college I know why most young adults first start to volunteer--to build their resume for college. I spent many of my afternoons during high school trying to rack up the number of community service hours I had completed. At the time, I was looking to build my resume up as much as possible for my college applications by participating in any and all sorts of volunteer activities.

While I often dragged my feet to my designated shifts at a local hospital, this glimpse into volunteering taught me new skills that I would not have learned through an after school job. For instance, I learned how to be flexible and how important that skill is in the real world. If the hospital needed me to stay and work an extra hour past my scheduled shift--I would learn how to change my schedule around and make this possible.

As I've matured through new life experiences since my high school days, I have gained a new respect for those good Samaritans who donate their time to others. A 9 to 5 job cannot deliver the same feeling of joy and happiness as knowing you helped improve someone’s day or even life. And yes, while working a job is considered important and positive work, it does not provide the chance to minimize the stress in your life the same way helping someone else through volunteering does. The wide array of people you come into contact with during volunteering pushes you to improve your communication skills. As I mentioned earlier--you must learn to be flexible and react to new situations. Being able to clearly and effectively communicate with a variety of different people helps maintain this flexibility.

 From my short time at Charleston Habitat, I have been able to witness the incredible benefits of volunteering. Volunteering brings together all kinds of people from all different walks of life. Being able to come together as individuals to work as a team and complete a job is inspirational.

So, for whatever reason people decide to or have decided to offer their time and services, I hope that at the end of the day everyone walks away with the same feeling of happiness that I do.

Now that you know how my adventures in volunteering started, do you volunteer? If you do, how did you first get involved? And what is your favorite part of volunteering?