3 Reasons Why Volunteering Will Change Your Life

3 Reasons Why Volunteering Will Change Your Life

With our busy work schedules, a lot of us have placed volunteering in the backseat. It seems time consuming, boring and just not a priority in our lives right now – after all, time is money, right?  

Well, it’s time to change your impression on volunteering because it is in fact, more exciting than it seems. Volunteering actually kills two birds in one stone, you get to give back to society and the community while receiving multiple benefitting yourself.  

First, let’s break down what volunteering truly means. In Singapore, we use it as a blanket term. What we think of first when we hear volunteering is usually, visiting an old folk’s home, helping out at a children’s home or cleaning beaches. While these are amazing activities, there’s so much variety in volunteering than just that. For example, when volunteering in an organization, you can more likely practice the skills that you already have or skills you want to pick up.  

My friend David has been working in the media industry for over 5 years. He decided that he wanted to use the skills that he picked up in his job to help others. He wanted to volunteer to share his knowledge while practicing and honing his skills.  

He then signed up to work as a volunteer in his church. In this organization, he joined the media team and contributed to the planning, producing and filming of religious videos. He worked in a team of both experienced and inexperienced media enthusiasts and felt accomplished in his role because there was a continuous exchange of knowledge while serving a good purpose.  

Up till this day, David continues to volunteer and provide support for the media team as he believes that it is a good opportunity to meet people of the same interest, exercise his industry skills while giving back to an organization that he treasures. One of his favorite parts about volunteering there is that he is given the creative freedom to use his talent for a purpose that he aligns with.  

David’s story is a great example of how volunteering doesn’t necessarily have to be boring. It can act as a platform to exercise your knowledge in a form that you enjoy! 

If you’re still not convinced of the benefits of volunteering, here’s 3 really good reasons why you should volunteer.  

1. An Opportunity to Network Meaningfully  

You should already know how important networking is for our social and work life. Volunteering acts as an outlet for you to meet new people in an area that you believe in.  

In David’s case, his church’s media team was the perfect place for him to make meaningful connections with people whom he shares the same religious beliefs with as well as who share the same passion as him. He now has a network of people that he can tap into for matters of his faith or to share new skills he’s learnt at work along with learning new tips and tricks of his job trade.  

All in all, volunteering opens up the possibility of meeting people from all walks of life. They can impact you in a way that you’ve never expected. Who knows, you might be able to make a new friend or even a future business partner!  

2. Advance Your Career with Volunteering  

Yes, you heard that right. Similar to working, volunteering puts you in a team with people. That means that you have to practice crucial skills such as teamwork, project planning, problem solving and organizing events. Picking up and practicing these skills on the side can add value to your resume and show your employers that you are capable of leading or participating in bigger tasks.  

With the nature of David’s volunteering job, the projects that he creates and participates in can be added to his portfolio. For example, if he produced a video that became viral or well-noticed on social media, this could be impressive to future employers. In this sense, he displays that he is capable of not only producing quality work in his job but in his personal life as well, making him a multi-faceted candidate in his future job search.  

Choosing a volunteer job that allows you to expand and practice on your career-related skills will translate and give you brownie points that might just help you secure your dream job.  

3. A Great Outlet for Work-Life Balance  

Volunteering doesn’t have to be boring or work-related. It’s actually good for your mental and physical health.  

All of us need a break from the fast-paced life that we live in – volunteering is a meaningful way to occupy your free time. Volunteering makes you happy. It allows you to make in impact in someone’s life, whether it’s coming up with creative ways to aid the community or simply physically helping someone in need.  You will help to empower people and give them the resources to have better access to the things they need.  

Volunteering also helps you contribute to a cause that you believe in. For David, his religion is something that he holds close to him. Thus, being able to contribute to something he treasures brings him joy and makes his hard work worth it.  

So, if you’ve been considering volunteering for a while now, this is the time to join!  

If you liked this article, check out Bridge’s career guidance for more of our lifestyle tips! 

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