wise words
volunteering
Americans
volunteered nearly
7.8 billion hours in
2015. Alabamians
alone donated 113.7
million hours of
service.
More Than Just a Resumé Builder
What’s the best way to make a difference in your
community, feel good about yourself, and pick up
some valuable experience? You guessed it:
volunteering! If you haven’t already, you may want
to consider donating some of your own time to a
cause you’re interested in. Volunteer service will
look great on your resumé, of course, but it has
other benefits as well!
Make New Friends. What better way to make
friends than by working with people who are donating their time
to the same cause as you? Volunteering gives you the perfect op-
portunity to meet people who have similar values and interests.
Explore Your Interests. One of the best ways to
test the waters of a career field is by volunteering. If you’re in-
terested in being a vet, try volunteering at an animal shelter and
seeing how well you interact with the animals. Want to check out
the medical field? Volunteering at a hospital could give you a feel
for the general environment and a chance to see things from an
insider’s perspective.
Learn New Skills. No matter what the volunteer
work entails, you’re likely to learn how to do something new, or
at least strengthen an existing skill. Some volunteering oppor-
tunities require you to take charge of a group of people—this
builds leadership skills. Some might require you to work on your
own to complete a task—perfect for building your problem-
solving skills and learning to work independently.
We contacted a few local organizations to find out more about
volunteering, the role of volunteers, and how to get involved.
Pretty much every community has a humane shelter, senior
center, charity, or other organization that relies on volunteers
to keep things running- make sure to research opportunities in
your area!
1
W hat
responsibilities do your volunteers
have?
C
indy Chapman, Volunteer Coordinator at the Montgomery
Humane Society: Volunteers do whatever is needed to help
care for our animals. They walk dogs, replenish water, clean
cages, do laundry, bathe puppies, and more.
C
hacolby Burns-Johnson, Director of Development at the
Montgomery Area Council on Aging (MACOA): We need
Meals on Wheels drivers to help deliver meals to homebound
seniors in our community. We have volunteers known as Meal
Makers who help our kitchen staff assemble the meals our
drivers pick up. Other opportunities include packaging pet
food we offer for the four legged companions of clients, baking
birthday cakes to celebrate senior birthdays, making frozen
meals for those on the waiting list, and seasonal opportunities
to assemble and deliver holiday meals for seniors.
M
endie Nord, Vice President of Branding and Communica-
tions at River Region United Way: For special events like our
annual “United Way Days of Action,” volunteers help elemen-
tary-age students with fun reading-related activities as part of a
summer literacy camp to help decrease summer learning loss.
Source: https://www.nationalservice.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2016/new-report-service-unites-americans-volunteers-give-service-worth-184
22 |
Winter 2018
www.potentialmagazine.com