Lately, I've been really interested in volunteering for events and meaningful activities. I don't really know what has gotten into me but my heart's just been overwhelmed with giving. And no, doing your secondary school CIP does not count as much as doing volunteer work on your own time cause it just shows that you have to do it than you wanting to do it, there's a difference.
However, I have to admit that my spirit for volunteering started back when I was in secondary school and volunteered at the nearby kindergarten and worked with kids. Ever since then I've volunteered for a Children's Home as a tutor and events such as CaféFest and a Flea Market.
1. It's a fun experience.
I know people who dread volunteering and shun when people ask them to do it, but that's only because they're too narrow minded to see the bigger picture. Volunteering can be a meaningful yet fun experience for everyone.
The experience can be even more fun with your friends because you get to learn even more about them in a different setting. But who says you can't volunteer alone and still have fun right? You can still meet new people and make even more friends, so why not? I've personally made a lot of friends through my volunteering exposures and learnt a lot from them.
2. A feeling beyond words.
At the end of thelong day, volunteering gives you a wonderful feeling that you can never find anywhere else. It's just so hard to describe that feeling. Having to volunteer the entire day, putting in your time and effort and knowing it hasn't gone to waste just provides you with that sense of achievement that you did something meaningful and worthwhile with your life. I can also tell you that it's also a very different feeling from the school CIPs that you normally do just to pass time and get CIP hours out of it
Not forgetting that feeling you get when your help is being appreciated, whether is it by the event organizer or even strangers who you've never met but are appreciative of your efforts, it just means a lot to hear a word that we either loosely use or don't use that often. I never truly understood the value of a simple "Thank You" until I volunteered and realized how it was like music to my ears.
3. Giving back.
There's a saying that goes like this, "give more than what you take."
I admit that I think that I still try to take more than what I give but I'm still trying to change and it takes time. To me, volunteering is a way to give back to society. Knowing that your actions can actually make a difference or even enhance someone's lives is really impactful if you think about it.
For me, to be able to volunteer as a tutor and teach kids, most people would be like, "that's stupid, why don't you be a tutor and earn money from tutoring" but I honestly feel that education is really important and not everyone is able to afford tuition especially kids who come from families that are not as well-off and I remember during my secondary school days I had tuition and I was struggling with the fees. So this is is just my own little way to give back to the society through kids by providing whatever knowledge I have to them to help improve themselves, that's all.
4. Life values.
It exposes you to the world and let's you see the side of life that you normally don't get to see and be in the shoes of the person serving you. It becomes more of you thinking about others instead of it becoming about you. It teaches you life values and the importance of being humble.
Like what I said earlier, I've never appreciated the word "thank you" until I started volunteering. It teaches you to be humble and that even if nobody's appreciative of your efforts you just got to stick to what you truly believe in and just do what you have to do even if you don't benefit from it at the end of the day. I also feel like that's one of the major turn off for people and youths today, knowing that they are not rewarded for their efforts which loses the entire meaning of volunteering in the first place. Most people expect a physical reward such as reimbursement or allowance or CCA points from volunteering. I honestly feel that the main purpose for doing any volunteer activity would be the fact that it comes from the heart that you want to do it because you either support the cause or think that your actions can benefit and make someone's life better and not for you to treat it as a mission for yourself and get the reward that's waiting for you at the end of the day.
If you agree with the 4 reasons I mentioned above, why not go find a cause that you support today or an event that you're interested in and start volunteering during your holidays and make it a meaningful one? :-)
However, I have to admit that my spirit for volunteering started back when I was in secondary school and volunteered at the nearby kindergarten and worked with kids. Ever since then I've volunteered for a Children's Home as a tutor and events such as CaféFest and a Flea Market.
So in the spirit of volunteerism, I've decided to come up with 4 reasons why everyone should start volunteering for whatever cause/event they support.
1. It's a fun experience.
I know people who dread volunteering and shun when people ask them to do it, but that's only because they're too narrow minded to see the bigger picture. Volunteering can be a meaningful yet fun experience for everyone.
The experience can be even more fun with your friends because you get to learn even more about them in a different setting. But who says you can't volunteer alone and still have fun right? You can still meet new people and make even more friends, so why not? I've personally made a lot of friends through my volunteering exposures and learnt a lot from them.
2. A feeling beyond words.
At the end of the
Not forgetting that feeling you get when your help is being appreciated, whether is it by the event organizer or even strangers who you've never met but are appreciative of your efforts, it just means a lot to hear a word that we either loosely use or don't use that often. I never truly understood the value of a simple "Thank You" until I volunteered and realized how it was like music to my ears.
3. Giving back.
There's a saying that goes like this, "give more than what you take."
I admit that I think that I still try to take more than what I give but I'm still trying to change and it takes time. To me, volunteering is a way to give back to society. Knowing that your actions can actually make a difference or even enhance someone's lives is really impactful if you think about it.
For me, to be able to volunteer as a tutor and teach kids, most people would be like, "that's stupid, why don't you be a tutor and earn money from tutoring" but I honestly feel that education is really important and not everyone is able to afford tuition especially kids who come from families that are not as well-off and I remember during my secondary school days I had tuition and I was struggling with the fees. So this is is just my own little way to give back to the society through kids by providing whatever knowledge I have to them to help improve themselves, that's all.
4. Life values.
It exposes you to the world and let's you see the side of life that you normally don't get to see and be in the shoes of the person serving you. It becomes more of you thinking about others instead of it becoming about you. It teaches you life values and the importance of being humble.
Like what I said earlier, I've never appreciated the word "thank you" until I started volunteering. It teaches you to be humble and that even if nobody's appreciative of your efforts you just got to stick to what you truly believe in and just do what you have to do even if you don't benefit from it at the end of the day. I also feel like that's one of the major turn off for people and youths today, knowing that they are not rewarded for their efforts which loses the entire meaning of volunteering in the first place. Most people expect a physical reward such as reimbursement or allowance or CCA points from volunteering. I honestly feel that the main purpose for doing any volunteer activity would be the fact that it comes from the heart that you want to do it because you either support the cause or think that your actions can benefit and make someone's life better and not for you to treat it as a mission for yourself and get the reward that's waiting for you at the end of the day.
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If you agree with the 4 reasons I mentioned above, why not go find a cause that you support today or an event that you're interested in and start volunteering during your holidays and make it a meaningful one? :-)
