No one would hesitate to support a charitable cause, just thinking about all the good you can do can lead to all sorts of incredible things, however being a volunteer requires much more than enthusiasm and desire to do so. Carrying the fight behind a keyboard and making complaints on social networks may serve to express discontent, but it will never be enough. People who work at the forefront of social, environmental and all kinds of organizations take years, maybe decades of their lives in the struggle trying to transform their environment. That is the essence of volunteering and as such, you require humility, dedication and follow a work plan to achieve not a radical change, but to contribute to your capacity to achieve it. Thinking about volunteering this holiday? Think about it, because you will surely find no greater satisfaction than to help selflessly build a different future through your actions, but that does not mean that it is a tourist trip, a job or a cause where each effort means a step towards Forward and everything is pink. What is required to be a volunteer then ?, Know the answers, if you are already we are sure you will be identified:
1. It is not vacations.
Entering a volunteer program is not the same as being a well-meaning tourist or a cool traveler. The first thing you will learn when you join an organization with a social purpose will be the difference that exists with respect to any trip. The comfort of a hotel room, an all-inclusive buffet or holiday nights during holidays are not part of a volunteer adventure.
2. It is not a job.
Being part of a volunteer requires all the willingness to understand and abide by the norms of that new culture and the purposes of the organization that you are supporting. You must be willing to learn, but above all to help and be supportive in each activity in which you participate. It is not a job anymore, you are not an employee, you do not receive monetary compensation for a service. The purposes of volunteering go beyond business logic; Many struggle to break that notion and seek to form strong bonds while helping a community, the environment or supporting a charitable cause.
3. There will be difficult times
A golden rule, in any volunteer, as in life. You can not always be in the time and place where these situations happen that you want to avoid, not everything comes out as one always expects. Situations can be pressing and sometimes crude. If there were no problems, volunteering in order to help a cause would have no reason to be.
4. Passion is required
Being a volunteer requires not only the will to help, but your passion to contribute resolutely and disinterestedly to a cause and contribute through actions to transform reality. It will not always be fun or even enjoyable, but if in the end all you need is deep satisfaction and pride in driving a change, any program will suit you.
5. It is about bulding relationships
Most volunteers have varying standards that can be adapted to the needs of both the volunteer, the organization and the project that requires it. The time that you will stay there, the facilities with which you will support you, your role of tasks and your free hours are subjects that must always be kept clear through an efficient communication channel so that the relationship between both works without problems.
6. You require a solid scale of values
It is not enough to be honest and hardworking, not even kind. To be a volunteer, it is necessary to share a common value scheme with the other members and with the purpose of the organization, besides having the desire to change the current state of things through high ideals of equality, equity and, above all, solidarity.
If you have understood the essence of volunteering and want to multiply your impact, do not hesitate to be part of the initiatives that you are most passionate about and contribute to improving the conditions of this world.