Student life can be demanding sometimes, especially when you’ve got an essay due, your love life is going nowhere, and your flatmate keeps stealing your milk.
So why would you want to add voluntary work to your pile of responsibilities? Well, there are at least four very good reasons…
1. Unique Opportunities
Volunteering can be as simple as helping out in a charity shop or doing something with your student union, but it can also be an adventure!
Most notable are the many schemes encouraging people to volunteer abroad (also known as ‘voluntourism’), which can be a great way to spend the summer break. Just remember that some of these programmes ask you to pay, so do your research before signing up!
2. Meeting New People
Although you’ve probably met quite a few new friends since starting university, volunteering is also a great way of expanding your social circle and meeting people with similar interests.
It’s worth keeping in mind that many voluntary organisations attract people of all ages from all sorts of backgrounds, so you’ll also get to spend time with people you might never have encountered otherwise!
Sure, some of them will inevitably be a bit odd, but they usually mean well.
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3. Good for the CV (as well as the Body and Soul)
If you’re a ruthless capitalist who considers helping people a waste of time, or just a nice person who’s also career-oriented, you’ll be relieved to know that volunteering also looks good on your CV and provides valuable experience in a competitive job market.
Ayn Rand sneers at your altruism.In addition to this, some voluntary positions also offer training or allow you to work towards qualifications.
And if you need yet another non-altruistic reason for charitability, research has shown that volunteering can offer benefits to your physical and mental health.
4. Make Volunteering Work for You
If the preceding three points have made you want to do some voluntary work but your schedule is already packed, worry not!
It’s easy enough to make volunteering fit your lifestyle, as most voluntary positions are part-time. Some even allow you to volunteer on a casual basis depending on your availability.
The range of settings in which you can volunteer is equally accommodating, including everywhere from offices and museums to forests and marshes. You can even volunteer from home if you really don’t fancy leaving the house!