Volunteering: Making the Most of Your Time
Let's say you just graduated from high school, and you're looking back at the good moments spent during those days. Do you only want to remember the days of having homework and assignments? Or do you want to remember the days when you had fun volunteering and did well for the community?
If you want to remember both, start filling your high school days with volunteering! Not only is it a rewarding way to spend your free time; it allows you to make a difference in someone else's life!
What are the benefits of volunteering?
So, why the interest in volunteering? Why would anyone want to spend their time and energy to serve and help others? And more importantly, how will it benefit you? From gaining new skills to building your confidence, there are many reasons why volunteering is worth your time.
The importance of volunteering experience in university admissions
Have you ever wondered why colleges and universities ask about your extra-curricular activities? Well, they do so for a reason.
Volunteering experience demonstrates your initiative and commitment to help others in your community – be it your neighborhood, city, or country. That's what colleges are looking for in a student – someone who will go above and beyond what is required of themselves, and who makes a difference in their community.
It doesn't matter whether you volunteer at a homeless shelter, host a charity event or tutor primary students; what matters is that you display your commitment to a cause or organization that you believe in. Admission officers want to see more about you than just your SAT scores, essays, and letters of recommendation.
Learn new skills
Even if you're still a high school student, volunteering experience can help you develop an array of soft skills you wouldn't get in the classroom. Here are a few examples:
- Problem-solving - Volunteering projects can be challenging, especially when they must be completed in a short amount of time. Your problem-solving skills will be put to the test as a volunteer since you will need to make decisions for the project to be completed successfully.
- Time-management - When working on time-bound projects as a volunteer, not only will you develop the ability to manage your time effectively, you'll also learn to prioritize and find out the best approach to fulfill all tasks.
Curious about what other benefits you can get from volunteering? Find out in this article!
What are the types of volunteering work?
There are different ways to give back to the community. You can help rebuild houses, teach homeless children how to read and write or feed them meals. The key is to volunteer according to your goals and skills so you spend your time doing something worthwhile and enjoyable.
Here are some of the most common types of volunteering work:
- Environmental
- Animals
- Education
- Healthcare
Under these areas, you can find a variety of volunteer activities and organizations you can get involved in. While volunteering is usually linked with in-person activities, the pandemic has opened a new world of volunteerism: virtual volunteering. Virtual volunteering, as the name suggests, involves using technology to volunteer for an organization or cause from the comfort of your home.
Get deep into the different types of volunteering work by checking out this article.
Volunteering is one of those things that can impact your life in ways that you would have never imagined. When you volunteer, you give back — but you also get so much more in return. So, have you figured out what type of volunteer you want to be?
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