Volunteering: Something For Your Soul

After three nominations in the past, Leonardo DiCaprio finally won an Oscar for the Best Actor in 2016 for his impeccable performance in ‘The Revenant’. The point to note is that his award acceptance speech was nothing about himself! Spanning a much celebrated career and global fame, DiCaprio chose to speak about global warming instead. Something you often notice about people who achieve great feats is that they are driven, inspired and volunteer for causes they care about.

If you find yourself wonder how these people discover this drive, a simple answer could be volunteering to explore what you care about, something that you are passionate about.

Why Volunteer?

If you are thinking of volunteering, your drive probably isn’t money. You may be looking for a deeper sense of purpose. Volunteering has several therapeutic effects right from imbibing soft skills to pink health.

Personal Growth

Volunteering puts you in touch with people from backgrounds different from your own, making way for interpersonal interaction. You get to have real world experiences outside the classroom, far transcending bookish knowledge. It helps you open up and boosts your communication skills. A shift from your own problems to that of others contributes to a better immune system and optimism, as found in this study by United Healthcare.

World View

It’s a skill to be able to fit into someone else’s shoes and view the world with their perspective. You learn to be patient and appreciate what you have. You understand what is truly worthwhile and of utmost significance in life.

Volunteering is a great opportunity to support a cause that you believe in. Whether you love animals or are affected by the plight of people in disaster-struck regions, there is an NGO you can work at. When you are passionate about something, you are all the more committed to it. So it is a good idea to choose your cause from a wide array of poverty, education, LGBTQ etc and lend a helping hand.

Making A Difference

The whole essence of being human is the ability to feel. Robots are not pained by others’ suffering. Machines do not rejoice on seeing others’ happiness. Human beings do.

A simple gesture such as teaching a child English can bring about a tremendous impact on his/her life. He/she can get hold of a better job and uplift the quality of life of his successive generations of family. That’s a life-changing effect brought about by you and it is an overpowering feeling with very little effort required.

Fun!

You get to travel and explore places, learn new languages, tease your taste buds and make new friends! It’s a chance to become part of a community you were otherwise alien to, by making a difference in their lives. Cooking meals together, working as a team on daily chores and celebrating festivals specific to a region all add up to a rich experience of culture. Volunteering offers a give and take of values, a barter of information and trade of knowledge. While educating the less fortunate about technology, one can simultaneously gain a lot from their traditional wisdom and practical skills. This leads to overall progress of an individual and a community.

Let’s Come Together!

We at Give make the task easier for you to start out with volunteering. Our website has filters for specific causes, locations, or NGOs that you could be a part of. Whether an internship or donation, you can take a small step towards shaping someone’s future.

Established in 2000, Give is the largest and most trusted giving platform in India. Our community of 2.6M+ donors have supported 2,800+ nonprofits, impacting 15M+ lives across India.

Aadeep