Volunteering

Perhaps, you may have seen your peers or schoolmates engage in one part time job or the other, and calling the shots in campus; and you begin to wonder why you aren’t that lucky at getting similar jobs or have something doing to get money and depend less on your parents or guardians. If you are in this situation, worry no more, as the magic wand that could turn things around for good for you lays in volunteerism.

This simply means agreeing to render services for which people would want to charge huge sums of money for free. It means paying less emphasis on money, while dedicating a day or two of your time for free services.

Volunteer services work like a bait, because it is like telling any employer that you do not need money; but rather associates with the corporate goals and aspirations of the organisation, and would want to render service for no pay. With this, you are worming yourself to the hearts of your employer; opening doors of great opportunities. Since, no organisation enjoys spending, they would welcome the idea, especially when they know you are from a higher institution; which means there must be something good you want to offer.

Anyone can be involved in volunteer works; it cuts across age, course of study, creed and sex. It serves as platform for people to express their interests and also sacrifice to a course. Though, the gains are enormous and cut across financial and other social benefits, a volunteer must first spend, before gaining. And in some cases, some start reaping from the very day they start. You have to spend in the sense that you fund your transport and other costs. However, your employer would only consider giving you some stipends, when the organisation realises how good you are; how efficient and effective you are to the company’s aspirations. So, during this period, one is expected to put in his/her best, make his/her impact felt. And most times, what is considered stipend might be as good as some people’s monthly salary.

However, as good as volunteering appears, it is not just something one should jump at. Before going into it, you need to ask yourself some questions like: Why am I venturing into it? Is it to make money, impact on society, meet people, do something with my spare time, experience new life, to have a go at the type of work I might want to do as a full-time job, to follow my passion or to do something I’m good at. Providing answers to these questions will enable one set goals and make the best use of the situation.

You can volunteer your time with schools, teach those subject you know too well. It could be hospitals, charity organisations and others. No matter how one looks at it, volunteer works expand one’s understanding of other people’s lives. It gives one a new view of the world, the problems within it and how some people are working to solve these problems.

For indigent tertiary institution students, volunteering could provide him/her scholarship or other financial assistance that could see him/her through school, and even provide good job on leaving school.

Other advantages include, boosting ones curriculum vitae, learning skills used in the workplace, such as teamwork, communication, problem solving, project planning, task management, and organisation. It could also expose one to learning new languages, as well as meeting people to expand one’s social group beyond school walls.

One cannot rule out chances that volunteering could help students consider a new career in field they are used to and garner experience about their new career.

All one needs to do in this sense is to volunteer in an area of interest, such as accounting, teaching, nursing and so on. Mind you, this is applicable only to those careers that welcome people from other disciplines.