I remember sitting in the hallway waiting to be addressed by the volunteer coordinator scared. Not necessarily because of the environment, but rather my lack of comprehension of what I signed up for.
I was eighteen at the time and I had no idea what I was signing up for. I didn’t understand what it meant to “volunteer” and I definitely felt unqualified. So my imagination limited my tasks to a lengthy list of work that didn’t require any type of skill set. “Michelle” one of the longest-serving volunteers called. I stood up in one rapid motion, ignoring my surroundings and passively following the young lady through lengthy corridors I thought I would never familiarize myself with, but soon enough I was guiding new volunteers through the same corridors and providing basic stewardship to the newer additions to our team.
Expectations vs reality
Behind every NGO or social initiative is a team that is passionate and driven toward global change. All that energy translates into extensive hours of planning to the tip. That means constant reports, invitations, and stakeholder engagements on a wide spectrum. All of this eventually leads to a “common call” towards change which the public sees in the form of events, campaigns, etc. The ability to translate humanitarianism into a physical call toward change is the first and in my books a key sign that global transformation is not a far-fetched dream.
The life of a newbie
The most exciting part of life is that it’s constantly changing and we are always on a journey of discovering new things and adapting from our previous experiences. Volunteering is nothing short of that. Grasping and expressing the mission and vision, developing a passion that is aligned with your new team members, and having the willingness to learn was my main motive.
Having no experience in this regard I asked away. “Where is….”, “what is…..”, and “Can you please…” are statements that my team heard often. Thinking back, and listening to myself, I am quite irritated, but I learned a whole lot.
Technicalities
Volunteering is selflessly giving one’s time and labour for community change. Doing so, especially as a young person comes with so many benefits:
– Meeting new people ( networking)
– Learning new skills
– Gaining credentials for the future
Above all this, volunteering is an excellent way to actively participate in transforming the world towards a better future. Giving time