What comes to your mind when you hear the word “volunteering”?
Good will? Altruism? Help with no expectation of compensation?
Volunteering can be all those things and more. In Canadian society,
it’s a common way to expand your life experience while helping others.
Summer is usually the best season to start volunteering, as there are
many opportunities out there, from small marketing campaigns to
monster-sized events such as
Pride and
TIFF.
In this article, we have lined up some important benefits you can
expect from volunteer work. Check out these 8 main reasons why
volunteering is cool and exciting.
1. Refresh Your Life
Volunteering
is a brilliant way to discover new interests and hobbies, visit
different parts of the city and travel. Getting involved with something
you have never experienced or something that seems a bit challenging to
you may open your eyes about certain things, give you a totally
different perspective on the ordinary, and refresh your experience of
life.
2. Connect to Others
Volunteering can be a great networking tool. Most volunteer work
requires you to get involved in the community or work with others. It
can be an excellent opportunity to meet new people, boost your social
skills, and expand your networking circle, especially when you are new
to Canada.
3. Gain Professional Experience in Canada
Just
because volunteer work is unpaid does not mean that the job you’ll be
doing is very basic or unprofessional. Some of the opportunities even
require training sessions where you get an opportunity to learn by
practicing. Whether or not you already have professional experience,
volunteering can be a good way to “get your foot in the door,” to
enhance your skills in a different environment or apply them an actual
workplace.
4. Broaden Your Career Horizons
Volunteering is always a great chance to explore a field of interest
or connect with people working there, and the experience always looks
good on your resume. Moreover, you can always ask the company you
volunteered with to provide you with a good reference. Some research has
shown that employers prefer to hire personnel with volunteer
experience.
5. Improve Your English
Pursuing
volunteer activity to help you improve your English is a smart,
proactive idea. Try to choose a volunteering opportunity based on the
skills you want to develop. If you want to improve your writing skills,
try to volunteer for a college newspaper. If speaking English is more of
a priority at the moment, break out of your comfort zone and try to
find volunteer work where you are expected to communicate with people on
a regular basis.
6. Just Feel Good and Have Fun
In
principal, volunteering is donation of your time, energy and skills to
others in need. Helping others, making difference in peoples’ lives and
being able to feel a wonderful sense of accomplishment without profiting
monetarily can actually make you happy. Moreover, volunteering is a
useful psychological enhancer, as it can help alleviate boredom and
depression.
7. Boost Your Health
There is some
interesting research that shows that people who often do volunteer tend to live longer than those who don’t. Another
study
shows that many people have reduced their stress levels through
volunteer experience. Volunteering positively affects not only our
mental health, but also our physical health!
8. Develop Time Management Skills
Volunteering is not usually a full-time activity. Balancing school,
work, home and volunteering at the same time can be challenging but it
is a great way to develop time management skills.
Important Note!
Some volunteer positions may be considered employment by the CIC and
require a working visa. For instance, a volunteer job that is normally
executed by paid employees (e.g. customer service) is considered
employment. Any activity which could be considered ‘competitive’ in the
Canadian labour market also needs the volunteer to have a legitimate
working permit even if the job is unpaid.
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