Volunteering, as many know is one of most noble things we can do to give back to the community.
I feel there is a lot of scope out there to choose from but sometimes people find it overwhelming and hard to decide where and how they can contribute or be a part of a good cause.
Since I have been doing this for such a long time now and I have helped quite a few people get into the spirit of volunteering, I thought I'd shed a little light on how I decided what I wanted to do to give back to the community or how I have helped people choose their calling as far as 'offering help' is concerned.
I believe we all have a passion within us, some like to play sports, some like to read, some travel a lot and a lot others.
I believe we must choose a volunteering activity that is closest to our passion or hobby because that way we never feel forced into it. Even though volunteering is something we choose to do, we may still feel pressured by it at some point. So to avoid that, we need to do things that satisfy our inner passion and at the same time, give us a feeling of serving the community. For instance, I love to meet new people, so I volunteer at the Gleaners Community in downtown Detroit where I go and meet people and work with them to help the underprivileged with food, clothes and even books. This helps me expand my horizons and at the same time gives me the great feeling of doing good for the community.
If someone is interested in sports, they should join a volunteer committee for the specially-abled to help them play sports; if someone likes to read, they can go to a blind school or volunteer at the Assisted living homes and read to the blind kids or older people.
If someone is restricted and unable to travel or move around a lot, they can simply stay at home and do some online volunteering as well. There are volunteer blogs/ articles to write that help people become aware of how and what is going on around them and ways they can help.
I feel it's not about the money, it's about how much time and effort you are willing to put in to give back to your community in some small way.
I only wish to motivate one person every time to get into the spirit of volunteering and hope others can join in! :)
Tuesday, January 29, 2013
Tuesday, January 22, 2013
My Passion: Multicultural Interaction and Volunteering
As someone who has had the opportunity to travel to different places and see varied cultures, I have developed a unique hobby, that of bringing together people and thoughts of different cultures, races, ethnicities and backgrounds which I achieve via offering volunteering opportunities as it helps those in need and at the same time encourages interaction of people from different backgrounds.
I have come to feel now that this has become more of a passion than just a hobby. Basically, I love to meet people and interact with them on different topics, be it personal, professional, political or others. And the volunteering helps me give back to the community in whatever little way possible. Over time, I have found that a lot of people wanted to do something similar to this but never found a platform to. I like to bring together people who may be a little introvert and mix them with those who like to talk, are expressive and who can prod those not as extrovert to talk and become an active part in the discussions because their ethnic background is something they are most comfortable to talk about. And when everyone talks about their race, their religion, their ethnicity, they realize how much similarity there is amongst all and that in turn helps them to come together to help communities as a whole.
I feel interacting with people from all backgrounds, besides bringing people together and volunteering for the betterment of the community as a whole, also helps in making a well-rounded personality of an individual.
I am trying to encourage people to do something or the other to give back to the community, it doesn't have to be financial only, any sort of volunteer service is a good start and it can make a whole lot of difference in many lives.
As someone who has had the opportunity to travel to different places and see varied cultures, I have developed a unique hobby, that of bringing together people and thoughts of different cultures, races, ethnicities and backgrounds which I achieve via offering volunteering opportunities as it helps those in need and at the same time encourages interaction of people from different backgrounds.
I have come to feel now that this has become more of a passion than just a hobby. Basically, I love to meet people and interact with them on different topics, be it personal, professional, political or others. And the volunteering helps me give back to the community in whatever little way possible. Over time, I have found that a lot of people wanted to do something similar to this but never found a platform to. I like to bring together people who may be a little introvert and mix them with those who like to talk, are expressive and who can prod those not as extrovert to talk and become an active part in the discussions because their ethnic background is something they are most comfortable to talk about. And when everyone talks about their race, their religion, their ethnicity, they realize how much similarity there is amongst all and that in turn helps them to come together to help communities as a whole.
I feel interacting with people from all backgrounds, besides bringing people together and volunteering for the betterment of the community as a whole, also helps in making a well-rounded personality of an individual.
I am trying to encourage people to do something or the other to give back to the community, it doesn't have to be financial only, any sort of volunteer service is a good start and it can make a whole lot of difference in many lives.
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