You’re a very busy person, so I will keep this brief.
Volunteering is a good thing. If you disagree, you should probably stop reading now – the rest of this is not for you.
If you agree that volunteering is a good thing, then we start from a shared place. It is entirely normal to want to help out our families, our friends, our neighbours and even strangers. In many ways, this is what defines us as human beings. Volunteering is a natural human impulse.
Almost certainly, you already contribute something to your circle of friends or your community. You may not think of this as “volunteering” but perhaps you should think again. How many times a day do you do something simply because it’s “the right thing to do”? How many times do you offer a helping hand?
We are not automatons that respond only to financial enticements or the tawdry allure of fame. We can choose to become automatons, to turn off the caring switch inside us. But if we do this, we become poorer for it and we become less than we were. You’re better than that.
Research shows that most people move into volunteering because of a personal appeal: a family member is helped by a charity, or a friend asks you to help out. You probably don’t know me, but nevertheless I make a direct personal appeal to you: please volunteer.
You can become a shopkeeper, advisor, Director, teacher, driver, campaigner, carer, receptionist, gardener, sports leader, play worker, counsellor, actor, health champion, or almost anything else.
You can see a list of local volunteering opportunities at w3rt.org/volunteering/searchopportunities
If there’s nothing there to take your fancy, you can see a directory of local community organisations at w3rt.org/cvs/search-for-organisation who will welcome approaches from potential volunteers. If you have an idea of your own, then contact cvs@w3rt.org and we will help you get your idea off the ground.
Do it because you have something to give back.
Do it to meet new friends.
Do it because you can transform someone’s life.
Do it to learn new skills.
Do it to reclaim and celebrate the human in you.
