A Volunteering: The Best Antidote To The Lack Of The Confidence
I volunteered at Martha´s Table, their clothing department, where the main tasks were to organise the clothing, fill out the customer database and pack up clothes that had arrived. Before I completed the volunteering, I had no idea that this experience would have this big impact on me. But the truth is, the benefits of volunteering on me are far-reaching and can have a dramatic impact on my overall well-being, as well as my relationships with others and career prospects. Volunteering will help build friendships and communities that can be a powerful antidote to the lack of confidence I had before completing it.
Previously, volunteering was in my definition all about donating money, but after this experience I learned that most non-profit organizations rely on volunteers to keep their programs running smoothly. I learned that I individually could make a direct impact on the people in the community. In addition, the impact goes beyond the obvious fact that I am also providing hope. I am giving people the tools and skills sets they will need to create a sustainable future. One of the most essential things that all people need is connection. For example, at Martha´s Table the outfit department provides lower income and working class families with clothing, blankets, toys and diapers which is basic necessities every individual need. Having people donating things because there is a demand for it from these lower income people, provided me with the opportunity to be the middle person and connect these two parties together, in other words, connecting the community together.
Another impact the service had on me was that it taught me new skills. Previously, I did not know how to communicate with these new people with different background than me. But that wasn´t as difficult as I thought. These new people were really nice and polite, really wanting to have a conversation with you and share their lives with you. New practical, social and communication skills were learned and these skills will continue to have an impact on me in the future.
Moreover, one of the greatest impact was the opportunity to visit a place I never have considered to visit before. The opportunity to volunteer forced me to break out from my daily routine and visit a completely new community. This opportunity forced me to shatter my comfort zone and comes with challenges that broadened my skill set and pushed my limits. In my situation, one of these challenges includes when I was trying to gather information for Martha´s customer database. To get these private information, I had to communicate in a certain way so these customers would comfortably give me these details. I experienced new cultures, and met people with very different backgrounds than me and broadened my cultural horizons. I inevitably learned new ways of looking at the world.
The last impact was the feeling of being seen and achieve something meaningful. In our society, we are busy working with a huge amount of thing and often we lose the feeling of achievement. But the social interaction brought by this volunteering really improved both my physical and mental health. By seeing how happy and satisfied these customers are from the small changes I made during the short time of period I volunteered, really made me feel happy and satisfied with my achievement. I really felt I could contribute positively to their community that would have a lasting impact.
