Have you made a list of New Year’s Resolutions and one of the list items was volunteer your time? Well, don’t worry; you still have now or the rest of the year to make this happen! There are many Ways to Give of Yourself.
Was the list you made detailed? Did you have specific goals of what organizations you wanted to be a part of or was your list in general to make it a goal to help in all areas you can? If you have a passion, that is a great place to start. What tugs at your heart strings? Animals? Children? Special Needs? The list could be endless, and maybe a bit overwhelming!
Sometimes the best way to approach is to choose one passion. Go to their website if they have one and check out the many needed items or ways in which you can serve them. If you have a chance to go in person they may have a volunteer form to fill out and you can check off what categories suit you for them. Even going to meetings that they hold can give you a voice to lend to assist them with ideas you may have.
Say your passion is for pets. Many people love pets and want to see them do well if they are in shelters waiting to find a perfect family to adopt them. Shelters do appreciate volunteers to walk dogs, pet cats and cuddle bunnies (yes, they can be in shelters too). They just need people to interact with them so they aren’t as lonely and get used to people to make them more adoptable.
If you are thinking that your passion might be for the homeless, there are many opportunities to help. Food pantries and kitchens can always use volunteers to serve meals. Many places look for volunteers to help collect needed items for the homeless like clothing, blankets, and food. The list is tremendous. Many gather together on certain nights of the year and do a homeless count to get an idea of just how many they do serve.
Whatever you choose to do, one thing you should know that each little thing you do means so much to the recipient. Sometimes it’s without a direct thank you, but if we volunteered to be thanked, then the passion is lost. It can be thankless, but in our hearts we know we have impacted someone’s life for the better, and that we can thank ourselves for.
