What does 'volunteering' mean to you?

I’m gonna say (type) a word to you and I want to you to say out loud the first thing that comes into your head; VOLUNTEERING.

A year or so ago if someone had tried that on me I would’ve blurted out something like “soup kitchens or digging up allotments or St John’s Ambulance”, I somehow had it in my head that volunteering always involved getting dirty or getting puked on or having to entertain bored little kids by trying to assure them that digging trenches really is great fun. Out of curiosity, what was it that sprung to your mind when you read that first sentence? Seriously, I’m really interested...

Ask me that question now though and my answer would be so far removed from that it’s quite hilarious. I’ve been volunteering for a few things for over a year now but it’s not volunteering in the sense I immediately think of, and up until recently I didn’t actually consider it volunteering at all.

One of the volunteering positions I do is as a school governor and when I say that to people they automatically think I have children. I don’t. I’m what’s now known as an ‘authority appointed governor’ meaning that I applied to my local council, they approved me and allocated me to a school fairly nearby which had a vacancy (only there were so many schools within spitting distance of me with vacancies that they almost gave me free choice).

I’m also involved with OUSA which is like the students’ union for the OU; I represent the student body within an English region, help at degree ceremonies, chair some meetings and whatnot and have been doing that for about eight months now.

I’ve also just signed myself up as a Digital Champion for Race Online 2012 following my trip to the National Digital Conference in London, so that’s another volunteer post on my list.

I never really considered them as volunteering posts for one simple reason; I do them for purely selfish reasons. I’ve never tried to hide this fact and will freely tell anyone who asks, but I do them because of the following reasons:

1.    They give me experience in areas which my paid employment simply can’t.
2.    They build my confidence and develop my skills of listening, analysing and debating.
3.    They look good on my CV for future employment/university applications.

It has nothing to do with feeling warm and fuzzy inside at the thought of helping others, it’s because I want to help myself. At least until I’ve worked my way into the career I want, which will involve helping others anyway.

Volunteering always conjures up an image of reluctant people doing something ‘good’ for society by way of digging up gardens or working in charity shops, but as I’ve discovered over the last year there’s so much more to it than that. Here are some of the more ‘interesting’ jobs I’ve come across since I’ve been paying attention:

1.    Race Online 2012 – 9 million people in the UK still aren’t online and Race Online’s network of voluntary Digital Champions are helping spread the word and get the whole country online and there’s dozens of ways everyone can help out without knowing much about computers.

2.    Give Blood – probably not initially considered volunteering, but you’re willingly giving your time (and fluids) to helping someone in need; your body easily replaces the pint you donate so if you CAN give blood, please DO.

3.    Beauty assistant/manicurist/pedicurist – seemingly a lot of residential homes and outreach centres run beauty therapy activity sessions and need volunteers to help out, this would be great practice if you were doing a course in beauty therapy at college.

4.    Trustee positions – there are charities up and down the country screaming out for people to sit as trustees, and you don’t need any formal training or experience to do so, enthusiasm usually counts for a lot more.

5.    School governor – honestly, I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my time as a governor so far and it almost pains me to know how many schools aren’t even close to having a full membership on their governing body. It doesn’t take up as much time as you’d expect and most local authorities give you as much training as you want.

I do feel kind of guilty for the reasoning behind my volunteering but then I suppose at least I AM volunteering. I don’t mind giving up my free time for these causes because it helps me. I’ve made new friends through it and have been given some amazing extra opportunities through it; volunteering isn’t a chore for me because I do things which interest me and things which MAKE me want to get up off my lazy backside and get involved, and as I’ve discovered it doesn’t matter what you’re interested in, there’s SOME way you can volunteer which involves those interests.

Volunteering isn’t just about charity and worthy causes; it’s about doing something useful and interesting with your spare time (of which most people have at least SOME), something which sparks your interest or breeds your enthusiasm or gives you a taste of something different.

Or if you’re like me, it’s a cheap way of helping change your life.