Volunteering can be an important part of gaining the skills you need for work, and life in general. It shows great initiative and can set you apart from the crowd. John Sennett of John’s Road to Volunteering wrote about his experiences of volunteering for us (all puns and pictures supplied by John!)
If you said to me that in 2016, I’d be running a blog, helping charities around the world, I would have laughed. This was me in 2012.
I had no direction in life and no real understanding of who I was as a person; things then changed.
In today’s society, volunteering can still be misconceived as a waste of time. The unpaid nature of a role takes over many mind-sets and it took over mine before I started.
You wouldn’t think it did if you met me in person, yet this is how life-changing volunteering can be.
But…
This comes down to you.
Volunteering is your foundation, but you add building blocks with every skill and experience.
I didn’t have this outlook when I first started, neither did I anticipate to be in the position I’m in today, yet every action of good deed, there’s a door waiting to be opened.
It’s only been through the support and opportunity from charities that’s driven my independent personality and to me this is how you succeed by volunteering.
How do you define success? Growth? Development? Achievements?
Every person I help; I achieve. Every smile is growth. Every progression is development.
Volunteering is much more than giving; it’s memory creating. We think about success from our own success, but what volunteering provides is an opportunity to inspire success for someone else.
My success has been from creating success for others and by stepping out of my comfort zone by applying for progressive roles.
Each hour given there’s a door to the unknown. Once you walk through that door, it’s no longer the unknown and another door needs to be opened. What else provides us this sort of progression?
Now, I’ve said it above and I’ll say it again…
Every opportunity is an opportunity to learn, give back and develop an arsenal of skills, but unless we’re willing to put ourselves out there and test our capabilities none of this will happen.
If you’re considering volunteering and want to know how it can help you with your life, start by thinking about who you are and who you want to be, the skills and attributes you want to develop and your interests.
Combine this with a passion for helping others and the road to success is there to be grabbed.
It’s now up to you to make this happen…
John’s Road to Volunteering isn’t just any old platform; it’s an opportunity for voices to be heard. Working across the volunteering and blogging worlds, JRTV brings thoughts, insights and collaborations to life through the art of story-telling,
My story has only just begun and JRTV100 is coming on January 1st.
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