Why is it important to be passionate about community and volunteer your time? Without volunteers lots of events and projects for your community wouldn’t be possible. Spending time distributing food or helping out at a local shelter, for example, provides a vital service to the less fortunate.
Supporting your community and hanging around people who are dedicated to bettering the world is something you’ll never regret. It provides an opportunity to grow as a person by enriching your life and broadening your perceptions of the world. Here are a few suggestions on how you can volunteer and give back to the place you call home.
Help Your Family
With so much going on in life on our day-to-day, the needs of your family can easily go unnoticed. Parents taking care of their little ones may overlook the plight of their own parents, assuming they can take care of themselves.
Adults tend to assume their parents will speak up if they need help with anything. It doesn’t always go this way, especially if your aging parents have been independent for years. Paying attention to your own roots first is where it all starts.
Elderly individuals are often reluctant to share their increasing sense of isolation and loneliness with their children. Take time to reach out to everyone in your family and offer your time to help them with various tasks. Even just spending some quality time with them counts as volunteering in your local community.
Serve Seniors in Your Community
Many centers for the elderly have sadly become dumping grounds for senior citizens whose families are gone or unavailable. This is an opportunity for you to make a difference in the outlook and attitude of older people.
From helping an elderly shopper at the grocery store to volunteering at a nursing home, helping the elderly is part of the social contract. You can as well help senior citizens learn how to use technology like smartphones and computers.
Reach out to your local nursing home and ask about their volunteer guidelines.
Volunteer at a Local School
Educators are often overworked (especially in innercity areas). Many of them are stressed and some discouraged by the education infrastructure. So they need the community’s help to serve the children as best as possible.
Kids need people they look up to caring about their lives and behavior. Teens and children from all walks of life need adults who can guide them as they grow. Help them make major life decisions like applying to college to simply completing homework.
While you cannot solve all the problems of education, you can contribute to making things better. Reading stories to elementary school children and spending a weekend beautifying the school ground are good ways to volunteer.
Pick Up Waste to Keep the Ocean Clean
Littering decreases the quality of life for all members of a community. Every year, tons of pollution ends up in the oceans─ killing fish and other marine life. A large quantity of ocean trash starts on the street as litter.
Collect garbage in your community before it washes down the drain. The good thing with picking up materials such as plastic is that you can convert them into new products. Recycling plastic is so important to the environment as it reduces pollution and the need to use natural resources.
Consider organizing a simple community clean-up to address this concern. Meet community members at a central spot to start collecting trash and making the area more appealing.
Promote Local Businesses
Helping out businesses in your neighborhood is a great way to support your community. Aside from buying local, if you’re a business owner or create content online then consider setting aside an area on your website that links to a local company. Cross networking with a non-competing local business with the same markets can help you reach more people.
Participate in Donations and Fundraisers
Donating can make an immediate difference in the life of others because it redistributes resources to those that are less fortunate. Don’t worry much about how much you can actually donate. Focus on giving what you have and doing this from your heart.
Monetary donations are some of the best ways for local companies to get involved in their community (if you have it). But if you don’t have much to give you can also donate clothes, shoes, toys and other belongings you have that are in good condition.
You may also give back to the community by creating a fundraising event. Fundraisers bring people together to work towards a common goal. Fundraising events can help encourage local unity, raise awareness of a local need and bring in more money.
Join a Community Garden
Taking up a plot in a community garden provides an opportunity to produce fresh produce for the community. It as well teaches you a new skill that you’ll need to create your own garden.
Also, you can put that green thumb to good use by helping maintain unclaimed common areas. Don’t have the right tools for community gardening? You can always find a tool that gets the job done on this company website.
Volunteer at a Hospital Near You
People get sick every day and often need support from those that are able-bodied. Volunteers at a hospital provide much-needed comfort and support to patients, families and visitors.
Whether you have medical experience or not, you can always volunteer at these hospitals. Offer to watch over patients, sit with them, help in serving food or work with kids. You can even volunteer to run errands or drive patients to appointments.
Start Volunteering to Improve Your Community
There are many volunteer opportunities in every community that fit your abilities and interests. Whether you’re passionate about helping the homeless, animal rights or advocacy, you can find a way to contribute your time. This can make a big difference in both your life and the people you serve.
Do some research to find out how you can offer your time in certain places like hospitals and senior homes. For tips on renovating spaces to help give your neighborhood an upgrade, check out our blog.
