I love to volunteer every so often. It fills me with purpose and turns me towards hope, something my tank always feels low on these days. Best of all, what I get from volunteering is participating in it for the good of other people. The trouble is, I think I got used to the couple of ways I would volunteer and didn’t realize the wide rainbow of service possibilities. I’d love to share with y’all three unique ways to volunteer your time that are out there if you look hard enough.
Become a Youth Mentor
If you have a heart for the acute struggles of young people, mentor one. Sure—volunteering can touch hundreds of people in little ways, but going this route makes a world of difference for one boy or girl facing their most formative years.
Your involvement gives them an adult figure outside of their parents to talk about college, owning a car, navigating tumultuous relationships, and becoming an adult. In this role, listen first and speak sparingly. You’ll find that if you respect them and gain their trust, then they’ll seek your opinion out. There’s little that can give you a pep in your step like this focused brand of volunteering. And if you’d rather avoid in-person meetings as COVID-19 looms, there are plenty of e-mentoring sites to look into.
Get Into Micro-Volunteering
Second, explore micro-volunteering to do more good with your spare time. Mirco-volunteering is, in short, when people take up quick tasks that may or may not be directly related to a charity (and are usually found online). Some examples include signing a petition, posting on social media, or planting in your community garden.
These micro opportunities help charities in part by connecting them with more people and allowing a many-hands approach to volunteering. And they are your friend because they let you live into your passion for certain issues without sacrificing other priorities.
Run for Good
My last way to volunteer your time is to go running. Sorry if that feels like a chore, but certain charity-linked apps let you exercise and raise money from partnering corporate sponsors.
Given the uptick in sponsoring a cause for a race, it’s no surprise there’s a big, high-tech way of doing this for any kind of mileage, even if it isn’t on race day. So, get out there—take care of your body and raise money for charity in one charitable fell swoop.
