Despite what many people think, volunteering is not ‘free labor’. On the contrary, the benefits for the volunteer are countless. Volunteering is a way to make new friends, help correct social problems, and develop as an individual.
What is volunteering?
Through volunteering you personally make sure that the world is getting a better place, but you also invest in yourself, because when you volunteer you build up a range of skills that help you in your relationships with those around you, as well as in college or in the workplace. There are millions of people around the world who need help: they are forced to work, have no access to education, are exploited, homeless or have nothing to eat. The resources of authorities and non-governmental organizations are limited both financially and in terms of staff. This is where volunteers come in. Volunteers are those who do something because they want to, for the benefit of someone else, without money. Volunteers are indispensable in a non-governmental organization. At eLiberare voluntarii contribute to the fight against human trafficking.
Who can volunteer?
Anyone. As long as there is the will and enthusiasm, anyone can make a contribution to the world in this way.
There are dozens of reasons why you should volunteer, but we’ve focused on six so you can spend less time reading and more time volunteering.
1. Make new friends
2. Volunteering helps your career
Whether or not you already have a job, volunteering empowers you, teaches you how to manage your time, gives you certain skills that will help you in your career. When you volunteer you have to dedicate a certain amount of time to the organization you work for, you have to work in a team and learn to communicate openly and calmly with your colleagues, you have to help solve problems, you have to contribute to a project from start to finish, which means you have to be organized and know how to manage your tasks efficiently. All these skills are absolutely necessary in the workplace and can even help you get the job you want or advance in your career.
3. Volunteering makes you feel fulfilled
What’s more, scientists have shown that volunteering makes you happier because it reduces stress and makes you healthier. According to helpguide.org, when you channel your energy into helping someone else, you’re less tense, it gives you a sense of belonging and makes you more confident in your own strengths. Volunteering also makes you healthier. Our moods and emotions strengthen the immune system. The work of a volunteer is indispensable and truly contributes to a cause that can go beyond the community you live in.
4. Discover the reality around you
It’s easy to live in a bubble, disconnected from what’s going on in the world, but sooner or later we’re bound to hit the ugly parts of the world we live in. And we can’t wait for the world to get better by itself, we have to get involved. When you volunteer you discover the vulnerabilities of the world we live in and we can help strengthen them. Volunteering also helps you understand why even if a problem doesn’t affect you personally, it affects society as a whole and it takes all our efforts to find a solution. At eLiberare volunteers learn about all the forms human trafficking takes, who can fall victim to traffickers, how important prevention is and where the system needs to be improved to combat human trafficking and protect vulnerable people.
5. Help correct injustices
How many times have you been helped by someone when you were struggling? It may have been someone you knew, but the simple fact that someone was there for you at a time when you were in trouble was enough to help you get back on your feet. When you volunteer, you give back some of the kindness that has been shown to you to people who need it most. Volunteering also helps correct some of the problems in society that affect many people. Romania is the European country with the highest number of victims of trafficking in human beings, and 38% of the people who end up in the hands of traffickers are minors. At eLiberare volunteers help prevent and fight human trafficking in Romania through the campaigns they dedicate their time to.
6. You are the change you want in the world
We can’t expect things to work themselves out, or for authorities to be so efficient that they solve all the world’s problems without help. The only way to ensure that solutions are being worked on the cause you care about is to roll up your sleeves and get personally involved. At the end of the day, you’ll fall asleep knowing that you’ve helped solve a problem that affects thousands of people. There are hundreds of social causes worth your time, whether it’s homeless people, victims of domestic violence or people forced to beg. And volunteers are an essential part of the machinery to correct these injustices.
Time is perhaps the most precious thing we can give to a cause. That’s why it’s so important to manage your time carefully and dedicate some of it to a cause that suits you. But, just because you set aside a certain amount of time to contribute to a cause, it doesn’t mean that that time isn’t also for your personal development.
eLiberare is looking for volunteers for its projects. You too can help fight human trafficking!