Why Volunteer?

[Rosie-RO]

Yes! Although recently they have tried to sneak in healthy options like salad and cheese and crackers. They just don't cut it, I say!

[mischiefmanaged]

What kind of volunteering options are out there? Where could you find opportunities?

I'm lucky in that most of my opportunties have kind of been presented to me!!! Google is always a great help these days. Especially if you know what you are interested in. You can also chat to friends and see what experiences they have, this could provide some ideas! 

[dreamcatcher]

What kind of volunteering options are out there? Where could you find opportunities?

There's things like collecting (money, clothes, etc), giving (like at Christmas), activities to raise money (like the 'going without something for 40 hours') spreading info about things, spreading  good vibes or sometimes it's just doing 'normal work' for free!

If you have a certain interest, you can find volunteering jobs in that field, or you could search papers, magazines or the interwebs. My uni also has a page that advertises upcoming volunteering events in the area.

[ruenhonx]

There are so many opportunities to find volunteer work and thank goodness for Google because that is the best place to look for some awesome organizations that need your help  

[mischiefmanaged]

Thanks for telling us a bit about where to find opportunties to volunteer! It is so important especially for those who may not have had any experience before!

However...

How do you know what volunteer opportunities suit you? 

[Rhelna]

How do you know what volunteer opportunities suit you?

Trial and error I guess? Haha. Well, I would have thought that the volunteer position I applied for at the museum suited me.
But yeah,, I guess it depends on what you're comfortable with, or even whether you want to push yourself out of your comfort zone.

[dreamcatcher]

How do you know what volunteer opportunities suit you? 

• Trial and error.
• Do your research
• Get other people's opinions/past experiences 
• If you have decided to do it, give it all you've got! 

[ruenhonx]

How do you know what volunteer opportunities suit you? 

I think being self aware is important. It took me going through a few volunteering jobs for me to figure out what worked for me. I like working with people and supporting others who are going through difficult times or are in distress because I feel good uplifting and supporting others and the more confident I get the more I find challenging volunteering opportunities  

[itsonlyher]

My past experience with volunteering has been a bit of a mixed bag because more often I am assigned as manual labour (contrary to what was advertised) or that the hiring organisation was not as invested as I was in their event/project. IN some instances I felt the organisation was more interested in getting the work/manual labour out of me than making this project a committed joint effort. 

I don't want to sound unkind or ungrateful or a generally horrible in any way. I volunteer because I want to gain work experience, gain new friends within the industry that I want to work. But most of all I volunteer because I think I have something to offer to help others. 

Alot of ppl have recommended volunteering if to make new friends. I think this is only really possible when you are actually involved in a long term volunteering program, as suppose to an event gig which are more seasonal and short term. You make acquaintances but not so much friends or work contacts. 

[mischiefmanaged]

Great idea guys!!!

Definitely a bit of trial and error invovled. It can be surprising sometimes though! Sometimes an opportunity which you thought would suit perfectly mightn't suit at all or the opposite can happen - an opportunity you thought would not suit you was the right fit! It's so important to be open to new experiences and just give it a try!!!

I think determing what your interests and goals of volunteering are important... So if you love animals and want to help them, then volunteering at an animal shelter might suit you but not if you get queezy at the site of poo! So you need to be realistic too!