If you’re itching to become engaged and “out among the people”, volunteering may answer your needs. Although it wont help paying the bills, volunteering often pays handsomely in the sense of satisfaction you gain by helping other people.
Numerous organizations want your help. Hospitals, churches, museums, senior services, schools, non-profits, and service clubs all depend on volunteers to perform many of their basic functions. While some organizations have very organized volunteer operations, others are quite casual. How should you select among them?
- Follow your own talents and interests. For example, if you love to cook, a soup kitchen may suit your fancy.
- Search and list a few organizations in your area that reflect your choices.
- Craigslist has postings for volunteers in their community section.
- Talk to friends to learn if they know of any local opportunities or organizations.
- Inquire at the local library and churches, which may be aware of organizations in need because they often provide space for their meetings.
- Once you have identified some opportunities, try a few. While the mission of one organization may appeal to you, the individual personalities you encounter may not. Don’t be afraid to dabble until you find your comfort zone.
Once you’ve found your niche, don’t hesitate to dig in. In any volunteer organization, the best challenges are always reserved for the people that can be “counted on”. If your commitment is only marginal, the treatment you receive will reflect that.
Once you are involved and know you are making a serious contribution, your sense of satisfaction and ownership of the operation will deepen. You will become one of the key members of the group and develop that rewarding sense of “being needed” and “making a difference”.
And if, in these troubled economic times, the cost of groceries ever does start becoming a problem for you, you will find that many organizations look first to their key volunteers when selecting someone to fill a paying position.
Click below to make a comment. Even better, expand on the original article by going to wikiSenior and clicking on ‘edit’.