What type of job do you want? What skills and hobbies do you possess? Do you have enough experience? Where do you start your search? Do you want to be a volunteer?

Volunteering is willingly working on behalf of others without the expectation of pay or other tangible gains. In this article, I am focusing on how to use volunteering as a tool for your recovery. To be a volunteer means becoming an integral part of an organization or agency.

You are valued worldwide regardless of age, race, creed, or gender who wants to give back to our communities.

Personal Experiences with Volunteering

In my past, I volunteered on many occasions, including my university’s public relations department, sports information office, and my universities’ student advocate office. These were positive opportunities and assisted me in my educational and social goals. Not only does volunteering help the place where we are doing the work, but it benefits the specific person doing the volunteering. On occasion, volunteering can lead to paid employment.

From Volunteer to Paid Employee

In late 1992 or 1993, I began volunteering in the Grant Department of North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset (now called Northwell Health). Performing various tasks, I learned many functions of the job, and I was always on time. After around seven months, one of the employees in the department went on sick leave. Later, I wanted a temporary paid position. Once I juggled my schedule, I was able to work four days weekly from 8 am to 5 pm and where I stayed for five months (13 months in total) till he returned. The program was glad to have me.

The Rewards of Volunteering

People say that being a volunteer is rewarding. An instrumental piece to possibly stopping the relapse cycle and not returning to the hospital can be having a stable volunteer position. Many of us have found that volunteering is a stepping stone with a chance to accomplish something positive and feel productive. By volunteering, people can learn new things, make new friends, and develop skills to get paid employment. An expression often used here, “get one’s feet wet.” Wow, that sounds awesome.

Flexibility in Volunteering

‘Time’, and your schedule may not be an issue for someone who volunteers depending on your circumstances—even volunteering for a month, temporarily helping out a beautiful technique to figure out oneself. Furthermore, we continue to perform an important function and helping others and us in the process. Also, a person may get an opportunity to “spread one’s wings” in a “real-life” work environment.

Finding the Right Volunteer Opportunity

Evaluate how and what you want on your terms and your terms. The best person to know this is you, the person volunteering. Then ask: do you want to be a volunteer? My article’s research gave a lot of information on thinking about how to approach volunteering with changing life circumstances. No rush, no pressure. It is up to each individual to make their own choice. Think positively and see everyone in the NewsBlogs.

Editorial Notation

Howard Diamond’s next article on volunteering will be about helping in Mental Health settings.