Volunteering, as the saying goes can be very rewarding. You’re making a difference. Learning new skills or using ones you already had. But, and sadly it’s true, too many times people enter volunteering only to leave a few days later and put off from ever trying it again. No more, read below for some helpful tips to make sure you’re volunteering time is used in the best way possible. Leaving you and your chosen charity/organisation as happy as ever.
Make a list of what you’re passionate about
Don’t jump into the first charity you come across. First, make a list of your interests and what you feel most passionate about. Then search and write down a list of charities/organisations that fit within those interests e.g. nature, animals, children, politics. You can also use these interests to narrow your area of volunteering.
“I can argue about the concerns of wildlife all day long, but if I had to choose between cleaning-up the oceans or helping to plant trees, I’d probably choose the latter.”
Anonymous, UK
It’s okay to be really specific, or if you want variety and can’t stay still; look for a charity that has a range of issues you can support.
Look up the charity/organisation
Make sure you’re happy with the work they do. How much of their donations go directly to their cause? You can often find these answers through charity ratings and reviews, or even their annual reports – these are often published on their website. The best clue however, is their financial accounts – again you can find these on their website, or through an online search. Otherwise email them and ask how much of their donations go into maintaining the company e.g. salaries, fundraising etc and how much goes directly into helping? In the end make sure their objectives align with your own.
Talk to volunteers within the organisation/charity
Ask to talk or meet with previous volunteers. See what they thought of the organisation’s support: Did they have training? Was there help when they needed it? How long have they/did they volunteer for? And what’s been the best and worst aspects of volunteering? Or, if socialising is important, ask if they organise any events for the volunteers.
Image is courtesy of Volodymyr Hryshchenko from Unsplash
Having chosen your charity, choose your role
Often charities and organisations have different ways to volunteer; from providing educational info, media support, fundraising, organising, to being directly hands-on, and so much more. Just like earlier, make sure your passions align to the role, but most of all, make sure you have the right skillset, or that training will be provided. There’s nothing worse than feeling you’ve been dropped in the deep end.
Why volunteer?
Decide why you’re volunteering, for example; you know someone who was affected by the charities/organisations cause; you really want to help in that sector; it’s to improve your CV; to help you get into the right course or career. First of all there’s no shame in why you’re volunteering – at the end of the day you’re still helping.
But before jumping in, make sure what you hope to learn matches your expectations. Be honest, there’s no harm in saying you’re looking to volunteer because you want to work in that sector e.g volunteer to work in a hospital, because you want to be a nurse or doctor. At the end of the day the organisation/charity might even suggest better avenues.
It’s good to relate to your chosen charity/organisation; that way you can provide an insight that’s truly helpful. However, if you’ve chosen to help in a way that’s close to home e.g. you, or a loved one, has been affected by the charity’s cause e.g. cancer, domestic abuse etc, make sure you’re not vulnerable to being emotionally drained or hurt by the experience, and that you have a support system in place.
Image is courtesy of Ian Schneider from Unsplash
Not a charity/nonprofit
Okay, so this one can be a little tricky. Maybe you want to help because you can see someone or some business is struggling, or you’re looking to get experience in a particular industry. Check first whether there is room for you to help, that skillsets match, and how much of a commitment you can do
For example, if you’re looking to help a local bookstore because they’re struggling, ask if they could do with the help and what you’re able to assist with? E.g. reading to children, cataloguing. You can always ask to shadow someone and develop skills to help elsewhere.
Maybe you want to help an elderly neighbour e.g. volunteer to do their gardening/get their shopping etc. Test the waters first, ask if they want assistance and see what they may suggest. Don’t push it, if they say no – you’ve planted a seed and they might always change their mind. Also don’t become overwhelmed if they jump on the idea and suddenly produce a list of areas to help with – just choose one area first, and see what time you have. If they need help in a lot of different ways, or with something you can’t help with, or feel comfortable doing, look up charities that can provide them with support, and pass these details on to them.
Helping a business. This can be difficult. A) you don’t want to do anyone out of a job, B) Make sure you’re not taken advantage of, C) Ask yourself why they need help? Are they struggling due to staff illness? Are they financially constrained? etc. Volunteering for a private business is something you have to play by heart. But try to make sure that you’re not taking any hours away from those working there. Possibly approach the staff before offering to volunteer.
Work experience. Say you want to volunteer in a specific industry such as media – see if they have any work experience opportunities, or intern schemes (but please be careful with these; see if they offer support financially e.g. covering costs/basic wages etc). If not, or you fall outside their criteria e.g. might be an age restriction, it’s always worth emailing and stating your interest to see if they can advise you on another way to help, or even on occasion make an exception.
Commitment
Good intentions. If you’ve read this article its clear you have them, but with the best of intentions things can go wrong. Therefore, just as you would with a paid job, you need to work out what time you can commit to helping. Make sure to calculate some downtime as well. If a charity demands a certain number of hours a week, and its more than you can commit to, be honest – don’t stretch yourself. If they can’t change the needed commitment, look to see if there is another charity that fits. At the end of the day, it’s still helping.
Also, check if they have a period of time you have to commit to e.g. six months or a year, both of which are quite common. Although it’s hard to know the future, make sure you’re able to commit to that time frame. Also let them know of any holidays you have planned – so they can prepare for any replacement cover.
If it’s too much to commit to a specific period of time, that’s perfectly fine. You can find other ways to help, for example a lot of charities/organisations do one-day events; e.g. beach clean-up, fundraising, protests etc.
Always be honest about your availability, they’ll appreciate it.
And that’s it. I hope you’ve found this helpful, and enjoy your first steps into volunteering.
