Volunteering is something which has brought me so much and it is something which I would really recommend to everyone. I used to be one of those who thought that volunteering was what other people did, but after seeing the great work that AMFund, a non-profit fundraising organization, were doing, I just had to get involved. I speak to people all the time who want to get involved with volunteering but don’t know how, so here are just some of the plethora of options which you have in front of you to choose from.
Local
The easiest way to volunteer is on a local, community-based level and there are loads of opportunities for you if this is what you’d like to do. For example thrift shops and charity stores can’t pay their staff so those people working there are doing it on a volunteering basis, if you have some time free then you could visit your local shops and see if they need some support. In terms of community-based projects you could speak with the schools in your local area to see if they need some help, you could also speak with your church as they often need helping hands with their events.
Beyond this you could look into what projects are active in your surrounding area, and offer them some help.
National
On a national level you can support some of the biggest charities who depend so heavily on volunteers to raise money, awareness and to drum up support for their cause. This could involve fundraising, support such as telephone support for mental illness, supporting hospitals, nursing homes, pet shelters or any one of a huge number of charitable causes that there are out there. Have a think about what kind of causes matter to you and then seek out charities who support them, you’ll find plenty of info online and once you have selected the charity which you’d like to give some support to, find out what options they have, they will be happy to have you on board.
International
If you have a little more time on your hands and you would like to combine your volunteering efforts with some travel, you can look at heading abroad to help some really worthwhile causes. This could be anything from environmental work in the Amazon, helping those in poverty in places like Africa or Asia, helping to build roads, homes and schools in many locations around the world or even supporting with animal conservation projects. There are some companies who work with a number of charities in organizing volunteers and you can find a huge array of options with a quick online search. This will of course take up much more of your time, but it will be incredibly rewarding.
The key is that you want to volunteer, as long as you make it happen, wherever you plan to help will be grateful for your services.
