As the year ends and the New Year approaches, I start to think about my New Year’s resolution from last year (exercise more, take time to read). I realized that if I set my mind to something, I generally do it.
I accomplished both of my New Year’s resolutions from last year, so for this year, I decided to include a new one that I know I can accomplish…volunteer!
Moving to a new city and having a new job has given me the opportunity to spend some free time volunteering with different organizations. It wasn’t hard and the reward is meeting new people, learning a new place and helping to raise awareness for issues that are important to me.
The other great thing I realized about volunteering is how contagious it is. I mentioned to some friends about some of the volunteering efforts I was apart of, and immediately they were interested in participating too. I soon found out that I could afford to give some more time to other organizations looking for volunteers.
So one thing I am going to continue to do is volunteer in the coming New Year, with this organization and others because it is important to me and the success of the organization. Often times organizations just need a little support to get going, and if it happens to be in your area of expertise, than even better.
So I ask you this, how will you make social change a reality in the coming year?
Written by Matthew Reid, volunteer blogger with the Literacy ‘n’ Poverty Project. A native New Yorker, Matthew now lives in Boston and works for a math curriculum development company.
I accomplished both of my New Year’s resolutions from last year, so for this year, I decided to include a new one that I know I can accomplish…volunteer!
Moving to a new city and having a new job has given me the opportunity to spend some free time volunteering with different organizations. It wasn’t hard and the reward is meeting new people, learning a new place and helping to raise awareness for issues that are important to me.
The other great thing I realized about volunteering is how contagious it is. I mentioned to some friends about some of the volunteering efforts I was apart of, and immediately they were interested in participating too. I soon found out that I could afford to give some more time to other organizations looking for volunteers.
So one thing I am going to continue to do is volunteer in the coming New Year, with this organization and others because it is important to me and the success of the organization. Often times organizations just need a little support to get going, and if it happens to be in your area of expertise, than even better.
So I ask you this, how will you make social change a reality in the coming year?
Written by Matthew Reid, volunteer blogger with the Literacy ‘n’ Poverty Project. A native New Yorker, Matthew now lives in Boston and works for a math curriculum development company.
Comments
If you're interested in my - slightly tongue-in-cheek - resolutions, visit http://russellcavanagh.com/2/?p=102
Readers might also find this useful:
http://www.socyberty.com/Activism/How-to-Improve-Your-Local-Community.160627
All the best for 2009
http://urbansurvivalproject.googlepages.com/online-volunteering
cheers
rizwan
www.urbansurvivalproject.org
@Rizwan - there are dozens if not hundreds of sites one could look to find volunteer opportunities. Perhaps the mere task of searching for said opportunities is what stalls the process. That's why your list is so valuable! Thanks so much for sharing with our readers.
@Russell - Thanks so much for sharing your guide with us. It's well written, simple and to the point! It would be interesting to see if anyone has used this guide and what their results were. If you have that information, please feel free to share it with us.
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