Helping Others Can
Benefit
You
Volunteering has a
meaningful, positive impact
on your community. But did
you know that it can have
many benefits for you, too?
You may have heard that
volunteering helps you get
into college, but keep in
mind they're not just
looking for a list of
organizations and dates.
Colleges want to see a
complete picture of you, and
real examples of your
commitment, dedication, and
interests.
Reasons to Volunteer
Questions to Ask Yourself
Before You Volunteer
Reasons to Volunteer
Whether you build houses for
the homeless or mail flyers
for a local politician,
you'll experience the real
world through hands-on work.
You can use this experience
to explore your major or
career interests.
Volunteering brings together
a variety of people. Both
the recipients of your
volunteer efforts and your
co-workers can be rich
sources of insight. For
example, maybe you'll learn
about the legal profession
from a former lawyer you
visit at a convalescent
center.
Some schools offer academic
credit for volunteer work
through "service-learning."
This is a teaching method
that integrates hands-on
learning (through service to
the community) into the
school curriculum. It's
available in high schools
and colleges, as well as in
earlier grades. To find out
if your school offers
service-learning, visit the
Learn and Serve
website.
Colleges pay attention to
your life inside and outside
the classroom. Your
extracurricular activities
reveal a great deal about
you, such as what your
interests are, whether you
can manage your priorities
and maintain a long-term
commitment, what diversity
you'd bring to the student
body, and how you've made a
meaningful contribution to
something. Keep in mind,
colleges are not interested
in seeing you do it all.
It's more meaningful to
colleges to see your
dedication to one or two
causes or activities than to
see that you've spread
yourself thin.
Travel
to far off places
In many instances you may be
asked to travel to distant
lands, places far away from
home. Many times we need
people that can travel to
areas that need our
assistance, such as:
disasters, poverty stricken
countries, areas isolated
from the rest of the world.
Some travel will be for
diplomatic reasons, or to
assist in opening branch
offices.
Volunteering has many other
intangible benefits. It can
help you give back to
society, break down barriers
of misunderstanding or fear,
explore personal issues, and
even have fun. "Community
service, which was required
at my high school, was a big
wow with interviewers. It's
even better if you can match
your service with your
career interest. For
example, volunteer at a
hospital if you're planning
on med school. "a
college student wrote.
Questions to Ask Yourself
Before You Volunteer
It's
important that you enjoy the
type of service you choose
and that you have the time
to stick with it. Ask
yourself these questions
before you commit to an
organization.
Do I want an ongoing,
regularly-scheduled
assignment, a short-term
assignment, or a
one-time assignment?
Am I willing to
participate in a
training course or do I
want to start my
volunteer work
immediately?
Which talents or skills
do I offer?
What would I most like
to learn by
volunteering?
-
Volunteering offers
many new learning
experiences that you
can and will use
throughout your
lifetime. For
example: saving
lives, teaching
others new skills or
how to read, and
many more learning
experiences.
What I
don't want to do
as a volunteer?
-
Do you have an idea of
things that you don't want to do. If you don't, you
might want to make a list of things you don't want to
do. Also, make a list of things that you would be
willing to do. If the list of don't want to do is
greater than the list of would do maybe you might
not want to volunteer.
Do I want to work alone
or with a group?
With what kind of people
do I want to work --
both in terms of who is
receiving my services
and who my co-workers
might be?
-
Decide if you can work with
various personalities, (grouchy, jokers, etc.)
prejudices are best left at home. Would you work to save
someone's life if they just bombed the twin towers?
Thank you for your interest in volunteering
with AmerinRio, Inc.
