Community Service Ideas and the Top 7 Questions to Ask Yourself

If you want to get into volunteering, but you aren’t certain where to pitch in, here are seven questions to ask yourself prior to volunteering. Finding the organization that best fits your skills and schedule will take some research.  The time you take for researching, however, will be well worthwhile when it leads to the right volunteer opportunity in which to invest your talents and energy.

1. What are my skills?

Community Service organizations utilize a wide skill set, so there are just as many community service ideas as there are organizations. When seeking to commit your time to volunteering it is important to identify what you have to offer.

Your options can be as diverse as an organizations needs.  You can answer phones, enter data into an appropriate system  or you could be passing out fliers, ladling soup or serving spaghetti.

So sometimes this question is both: What do you have to offer, and what do you want to offer?

2. What are my logistical requirements?

Any community service ideas you might have must be feasible in order to achieve them. Organizations require dependability, even if you can only come in to help once a month, it is important for the organizers to know the schedule you intend to keep.

So when consulting your list for ideas of how to participate in your community, remember to mention what time you really have to commit and how often.  If the place you wish to volunteer is in the mountains and you are in the valley, you need to count the weather as a factor that might inhibit your participation in some months of the year.

Likewise distance, life events (weddings, work or academic conferences as might apply to your daily life) and other obligations must be factored in to build your availability.
(how far, how frequently you have to be there, scheduling commitments)

3. What duration works for me?

How many evenings, weekends, or days are you willing to commit to volunteering?  Sometimes, the need for some form of income might influence the level of this commitment.  Other times, volunteering can be committing yourself and your time to do something for an organization in order to build up your resume.  On the other hand, volunteering can represent a way to give back to your community and enrich your life by building instant connections with others.

4. What’s my style?

Are you an instant gratification person, or does delay work?

Instant feedback or participation is evident when you participate in a soup kitchen, volunteer for a run, help construct schools in another country, and participate in a very hands-on way.  But organizations require a lot of planning prior to hosting these sort of events and, if you can deal with delay, you can help the non-profit organize the events which instant-gratification volunteers participate in.   The behind-the scenes work is very essential to the advancement of causes and fund raising.  Non-profit organizations require as much involvement as any business, but the funds and services generally assist the cause established in the mission.

Whatever your knowledge set, or the level of involvement you wish to pursue, non-profits could use your participation.  Consider what your style is while developing your community service ideas.

5. What do I believe in?

There are many organizations that help those in need.  From health issues like breast cancer awareness, to childrens  homes, and autism awareness organizations.  To figure out where you want to spend your time, and select a non-profit you would be most likely to return to, choose a major area of interest.

This can be difficult.  There areas so many causes, so many organizations doing wonderful things, that narrowing down the scope can be overwhelming.  So as selfish as this may sound, pick something that relates to you.  Perhaps you have experience teaching special education. The Special Olympics can always use volunteers, and they do some amazing things that help individuals’ self esteem in a meaningful and important way.

Perhaps this sounds more self-serving than volunteering should.  However, when you volunteer for a cause that you believe in, you have the power to infect others with your enthusiasm.  Suddenly, an organization that needs to spread awareness of MS has more volunteers than expected because you couldn’t stop talking about your involvement with the organization and just what wonderful things they were doing.  You become the linchpin that makes the cause applicable to your coworkers.

This sort of enthusiastic volunteering makes a big difference in the non-profit’s promotion of their mission. So, when brainstorming, know what causes you wish to support before looking for the organizations working to advance that cause.

6. What type of non-profit am best suits me?

This question dove tails into “What do I believe in?” and “What are my skills?” But non-profits comprise a wide range of categories.  The categories below seem to define the majority of organizations.  The first three below are what we generally think of when we hear the word “charity:”

Health Awareness: Organizations that raise awareness for diseases, mental illnesses, and disorders.

Social Awareness: Organizations that raise awareness for social and political concerns, alcoholism, drunk driving, child abuse, animal abuse, drug abuse, marginalization of a subset of an urban population.

Services: These comprise hot-lines, health institutions available for individuals with a low income, providing food to the homeless, providing clothes to those who can’t buy it, or even volunteering in a thrift store  that raises money for a non-profit or volunteer organization.

Less recognized are these options:

Education: Some non-profits help provide tutoring to students, run adult-literacy programs, music education programs, or physical education (like aqua aerobics for individuals over 50), while others are affiliated with supporting libraries, educational institutions, or otherwise educating the population.  This is different from social awareness because social awareness organizations can raise funds directly for a non-profit.  Education-based non-profits are arranged to provide knowledge to the community, or a subset of a population.  These organizations fill a need that either public or private intuitions are not filling otherwise.

Literary: A nonprofit can be dedication to crafting publications, provided the publications are either free or drastically lower than a competitive price.  Generally these non-profits are academic, issue-dependent, or affiliated with the promotion of marginalized genre.

Community and/or Church: Some non-profits are athletic clubs, arts clubs, are arranged to build community.  This could be a non-profit organized around growing bonsai, or a Lutheran Bible Study.  These organizations will have limited volunteering options, but should the bonsai club host a show at the local Japanese Buddhist Temple, or even a class, they might need more volunteers to assist with set up than they have members.

So based on your skills set and the amount of time and the style of volunteering you wish to provide, you could choose from any of the following organizations.

7. What does my research say?

Last but not least, when reviewing community service ideas, you should look at the research. All non-profits are companies, but some act like it more than others.  By reviewing the website of your organization of choice, looking over any printed materials and checking up on how the non-profit is conducted you can decide if it’s your type of place.

If you want some good times, but are not interested in too much hard work, then your choices will be severely limited.  The majority of non-profits require a level of dependability, and those that don’t are not acting like the business they are.  Sometimes, for some organizations, this presents no problem.  However, you should really have an idea of the sort of commitment, level of commitment, and needs of the organization before agreeing to volunteer.

When deciding where to apply your abilities, it is a good idea to know what to expect from your involvement with an organization.  It’s rather like getting a job, but in reverse.  Non-profits require volunteer participation because their funding is often limited.  But the best volunteers–like the best workers in a for-profit–are those who want to be there.  So be sure, when you are developing your community service ideas that the last step is making sure an organization fits you.

Photo credit:  Be the Change, Inc

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Charity Work – Top 10 Reasons Everyone Should Do It

There are 1.4 million non-profit organizations registered as charities in the United States, or approximately 1 for every 300 people, according to  a 2009 article by Paul Lamb that appeared in The Christian Science Monitor.  While this may seem an inordinately large number, the recession is putting more pressure on community services than ever before which, in turn, is providing an increasing number of charity work opportunities for volunteers.  Whether you have a job or are looking to gain new skills before going back into the work force, there are ten top reasons why charity work is good for everyone.

#1 Charity Work Can Help Others Learn

Do you have skills that you take for granted?  You can teach parents how to cook nutritious meals and reduce their food expenses.  Better yet, teach the basics of nutrition to families and help teenagers learn to cook.  These skills will last a lifetime and provide health benefits, too.

Charity work for volunteers who can teach teenagers and adults new career skills is always in demand.  You may take your technical savvy for granted, but when you start to show someone how to use a spreadsheet to do a family budget, or how to improve typing abilities, you are giving another the very skills necessary to land and maintain a job.

#2 Charity Work Can Give You a New Perspective

Working with at-risk youth who may be most susceptible to harm in these economic times will certainly give you perspective. Budget cuts are hitting public schools in nearly every state as teachers face yet another year of layoff notices.  Non-profit organizations that serve elementary, middle school and high school students need all the volunteers they can get as they strive to provide a continuity of service for parents and their children.  These organizations not have charity work opportunities for those willing to tutor in math, English, science and history, but also need help with events and fund raising to keep up with demand.

#3 Charity Work Teaches Humility

Volunteer one day a week to take notes for a college student, who happens to be in a wheelchair, and you will be inspired by her.  Observe the drive and motivation she brings forth to meet her daily challenges, and you learn humility.

Teach a third grader to read smoothly and with expression.  Watch his face as he grasps what you tell him in an “Oh, now I get it” ah-ha moment.  This young student will also teach you humility.

#4 Charity Work Can Inspire Others

When Jennifer Goodman Lin, a cancer survivor who was treated at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, started Cycle for Survival in New York in 2007, she could not imagine how it would grow in just four years.  Her personal story and fund raising program to fight rare cancers inspired so many people to get involved that indoor cycling teams in 2011 took part from Chicago, San Francisco and other satellite locations.

#5 In Charity Work, You Can Learn a New Skill

If you are a member of a team organizing fund raising events for a local community organization, you learn to work on a team toward a common goal.  Once mastered, the ability to understand and fulfill your role and communicate effectively with others to accomplish a project stays with you.  Being an effective member of a team is a learned skill that will benefit you in any position you hold, be it salaried or volunteer.

#6  Charity Work Lets You Give Back to the Community

Working with a non-profit organization that serves a segment of the local population offers a unique opportunity to give back to the community in which you have lived and worked.  While donations to a charity given over the internet make their way into certain community sectors, there is an anonymity to the giving.  However, when you become  involved in Special Olympics, Head Start or Meals on Wheels, you make a personal connection with a person you are directly assisting.

#7 Charity Work Lets You Experience Something Larger Than Yourself

The longer your association with a cause, the more you come to realize the extend of the need and the enormous commitment made by volunteers and staff.  Some would argue that altruism is a myth because human beings are not capable of giving without expecting something in return.  That cynicism is quickly dismissed as false by anyone who has planned a marathon or rebuilt a home after a hurricane or donated a wedding gown to Brides Against Breast Cancer.  In each of these three situations, the people involved know that their contributions are an echo of a much larger cause.  Each is humbled, inspired and satisfied all at once.

#8 Charity Work Teaches the Significance of a Simple Gesture

In the haste to get through all of the pressing priorities of the day at work or school and home, it is commonplace to forget about giving others the appreciation they deserve.  However, when you are teaching a fourth-grade student to write, you focus on her.  She shows you her latest essay; you do not hesitate to give her encouragement, saying “great job” and smiling.  That simple gesture may do more for the student than anything she has received in the last week.  The lesson, though, is to be better at recognizing others who touch your life outside of the volunteer position.

#9 Charity Work Rewards Last Longer Than Cash

At the risk of sounding like a cliché, it is true that by giving we receive.  The more we are able to give of our talents, skills and time to a cause in which we believe, the more others will connect with us.  These connections in all their forms and complexity enrich our lives for the duration.

#10 Charity Workers Experience Synchronicity

The term synchronicity was created by Carl Jung, the famous Swiss psychologist, and in layman’s terms it is defined as two or more experiences happening simultaneously that have meaning for the person experiences them. All previous nine reasons to do charity work form a synchronicity. At the time you are performing the work, though, you may not relate one new skill learned or reward received to your volunteer position.  Over time, as you continue to volunteer you will discover the power of synchronicity for yourself.

Photo credit: By hcplebranch

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