Benefits to Volunteering
Why volunteer? Here are just a few good reasons:
- It allows you to explore career options
- It is a great way to develop new skills and gain valuable career-related experience.
- It is a great way to use skills you already have to help others, and to develop these skills further.
- It allows you to get involved in your community.
- You can meet new people. This is good in its own right, and it also allows you to establish some important networking contacts you might use to find a paying job or as references.
- Volunteering is rewarding in itself. Even if you find this is not the career for you, it still provides you the satisfaction of helping others.
What kind of skills will you develop while volunteering?
- Interpersonal. You'll learn how to interact and work well with others.
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Planning. Organizing a fund-raising event and other volunteer positions will help you learn how to develop and implement plans.
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Marketing. Once you have developed a fund-raising event, you'll have to go out there and sell it to the public. Marketing is often an important part of volunteer work.
- Leadership. You may find yourself in charge of coordinating other volunteers, or on the executive of a club or organization. This is a chance to develop great leadership and managerial skills.
How do you decide what type of volunteer work
to do?
- Think about what types of things you like to do.
- Think about what skills you have to offer and what skills (job related or transferable) or what personal traits you would like to develop.
- Think about what particular organizations you would like to work for. Ask friends, relatives, teachers, career counsellors or a volunteer centre for ideas.
- Think about how much time you are willing to commit. How long are you willing to volunteer (a week? a month? six months?), and how many hours per week you can work during this period.
Some Volunteer-Related Internet Sites:
Volunteer Canada
CharityVillage - "The purpose of this award-winning site is to encourage, support and serve the 73,000 registered Canadian charities, and the millions of professionals, staffers, volunteers, donors, and supporters who make those charities such an important part of our national fabric." It has several valuable links to those considering volunteering as an option, including:
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