Communities benefit greatly from the work of many unsung hero’s – our volunteers. Whether it is directing visitors at the airport, fund raising to meet a need, helping at the local special needs school or answering questions at World Expo, volunteers make the world go ‘round.
A more formal definition tells us that …..’Volunteering is a voluntary act of an individual or group freely giving time and labour for community service. Many volunteers are specifically trained in the areas they work, such as medicine, education, or emergency rescue. Others serve on an as-needed basis, such as in response to a natural disaster.’ What’s important about volunteering is that it is done by choice, it is not paid and it makes a difference. While it does not have to be related to one’s profession it might enable you to use skills from your career in a different way or learn new ones.
Like anything we do volunteering can be a positive experience or a negative one. The aim of this article is to help you set yourself up for success – so that you thrive from the experience and the organisation or community benefit from what you have to give.