Thursday, November 7, 2013

Community Service: It Helps More Than Your Community

By Sebastian Troup


Community service is something that people want to accomplish since it is considered to be a "feel good" activity though we don't always have the time for it. This is quite apparent since everyone is so busy with their work and family. However, there are several reasons why volunteering is a good use of your time while at the same time also an opportunity to feel good about yourself.

Community service improves your community, and this is the most obvious reason. Why not take the time to make the community that you live in better? Simply by volunteering a few hours a month, you can have a huge impact with just a small investment of your time. Volunteer activities can include events such as park and street cleanups, local school projects, serving food at your local food pantry, helping with youth activities, and more. Volunteering in these activities will have high returns where it matters most to you and your family.

Your share in the volunteering work becomes exemplary to others. Not only are you making a huge difference with the community, but this also inspires your family and friends to volunteer. If you have children, you can use this opportunity to teach them about the importance and the fun of volunteerism. It is a good idea to find a volunteer opportunity that allows children to take part in such service. At a very early age, they will be able to grasp the idea that giving back is not only the right thing to do, but also helping others and the environment can create a better future for everyone. You also can create group volunteer events and invite your friends and ask them to participate. Social media is a very powerful tool that can be used to invite friends to join in and also spread the word throughout the community.

Depending on your schedule, several companies today are offering some workplace volunteer programs that allow their employees to spend a certain amount of hours per month that are approved during work hours. Why not spend such time to the community for the better good? The company is paying you for such tasks which make it advantageous for your family and friends to partake in such events to make to the most use of their time. If your company is not offering such volunteer program, then you might want to inquire about it from your management to help you get started.

The benefits of volunteerism are too many to mention though most of them enhance your skills and help you gain more experience. This by far, is one of the most noteworthy reasons to volunteer that others may not realize yet. Volunteering terms such as "micro-volunteering" are becoming well known simply because companies, volunteers and organizations all benefit greatly from this concept. What it all boils down to is that micro-volunteering allows employees to dedicate small amounts of time to a cause and also donate time that utilizes and enhances their current set of skills.

For example, there are hundreds of nonprofits that have no access to a web designer. If you are a web designer yourself, then you might be surprised that they are in high demand today. You can share your talent and skills to the community by spending a few hours of your time in volunteering for couple of weeks. This is a great training ground to hone your skills and gain additional experience while at the same time the charitable organization can benefit greatly from it. Freelance web designers can do some professional work that could lead to a long-term career and contract with the organization once they see how well you do volunteering which is a very great opportunity. Not only are you helping others, you also are building an even better resume for yourself.




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