It’s 6:00AM on a Saturday morning, and your alarm goes off.
We know what you’re thinking, “That sounds terrible.” Maybe you are an early bird, though, and that doesn’t sound too bad. Regardless, you will probably be quite tired upon waking up that early. At the thought of cuddling back into your cozy bed, you think to yourself, “This bed is amazing, but I signed up for this volunteer shift a while ago; I’m not going to back out just because it’s a Saturday morning and I want to sleep in.” So, you get up, put on your Sunday best (or Saturday best, whatever suits your fancy) and head out the door to your volunteer shift.
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Think for a moment. What would drive you to get up early in the morning on a Saturday to go and volunteer? What would keep you from backing out? Is there anything you care about so much that being tired would not impede your ability to follow through? This is what is at the heart of passionate, dedicated, and dependable volunteers. A volunteer’s passion for a cause is what gives a volunteer a reason to serve in the first place, what keeps them going when they are weary, and what pushes them to give more as time goes on.
With this in mind, it does not have to be a difficult process to become a volunteer. With these five simple steps, you can go from sitting on your couch to volunteering with all your might in no time.
1) Ask yourself, “What am I passionate about?”
Here is a list of causes someone may consider when deciding with which cause they want to volunteer. This list comes from VolunteerMatch.org.
2) Use VolunteerMatch.org to find a virtual volunteer opportunity or a volunteer opportunity near you.
Scroll down to the portion of the homepage that looks like the image below and search from causes that pique your interest.
Through searching in their database of volunteer needs, you will find not only organizations that serve the causes you are passionate about, but you will also be given most of the information you will need to volunteer with this organization.
3) Digitally reach out to the organization(s) of your choice.
On VolunteerMatch, they provide you with a point of contact at the organization(s) of your choosing so that you can set up and expedite your first experience with ease.
4) Speak with someone on the phone from the organization if the volunteer opportunity is virtual or visit the organization’s campus to set up a tour if it is nearby.
This step is important so that you don’t get involved with an organization you might end up not liking. Once you do this, you will have a much greater awareness about whether or not you want to volunteer with a particular organization.
5) Arrange your first volunteer opportunity, and follow through!
Once you have found an organization you like, set up your first volunteer opportunity, follow through on your commitment, and enjoy the ride! Give it a real chance, and you will see the rewards that come from partaking in these types of experiences.
Excellent work! You have just found out how to go from couch to volunteer in four easy steps. Do you want to learn more about volunteerism and charity work? Visit us at SynterResourceGroup.org for monthly blogs!