Volunteers help solve countless problems in the community, in almost every country in the world, and in our country as well. And even in areas where problems cannot be solved straight away, volunteers manage to improve the situation.
From children to the elderly, from environmental protection to the development of culture, from education to the protection of human rights, volunteers can make a decisive contribution through their time, the knowledge they have and the passion they are willing to share.
If we consider the financial, bureaucratic, or staffing obstacles faced by both public institutions and non-governmental organizations, we cannot doubt that volunteers, through their contribution, manage to bring the energy needed to make things much better.
The reasons for becoming a volunteer are extremely different and can arise from extremely personal desires or values or on the contrary, can be stimulated by something or someone from outside. It is important to find them, whatever they may be, because there is no one reason that is more valid or more important than another. Do you want to help? That's the only condition that matters!
If you're curious, here are some of the reasons why volunteers get involved:
- Volunteering makes you feel a bit like a hero. Once you get involved in an action that makes the world around you a little better, a very specific sense of accomplishment envelops you! This is probably why studies show that volunteering can reduce stress and increase our happiness.
- Volunteering can help you in your career. Let me tell you a secret: you can learn something from almost any experience you have, especially if it's something you've never tried before. Through volunteer activities, you can gather new information and learn many concrete things that you will need later in your professional life. Some examples are teamwork, leadership, and conflict resolution, but depending on the activity you choose, they can be much more specific. In addition, by testing different things, you can see more quickly what your strengths and weaknesses are.
- By volunteering you can find new friends - when you work side by side with others for good deeds, regardless of the field, you get in touch with people who have the same interests and values as you. These are the perfect ingredients for starting a beautiful friendship!
- Volunteering can help you understand better what is happening in the real world. What are the problems? How did they emerge? How do other people live? Why are we different? In what ways are we the same? Life is complex and if you get directly involved, you can get to know it easier and better.
- Volunteering can give you the opportunity to do what you are passionate about, or even find new passions. Maybe you have a hobby or feel an attraction to something that can be developed by volunteering in an organization - for example photography - or you want to try a role that you think would suit you like a glove - for example the role of coach. One of the advantages of volunteering is that it is usually done under the careful care of a specialist within the NGO, from whom you can find a lot of useful information.
Nowadays, time has become one of the most important resources we have. So it is very important to use it as best we can and to choose the things that are important to us. If what is important to you fits well in the activity of an NGO, the gains are many and on all levels!!!
