Why does volunteering matter? I believe that this question has been pondered upon by many – why should we serve our community? What’s so good about volunteering that attracts people to put in so much time and effort into it? Well, after being engaged in voluntary work for @warwickcraftinghappiness for 3 years in my university life, I have figured out why volunteering matters.
Volunteering, as the name suggested, is often an unpaid activity where someone devotes their time to make a positive impact to the community/ non-profit organisation. Though volunteering is often associated with a goal of benefiting others, to me, volunteering is NEVER merely just giving – it’s really not! The “returns” and benefits of volunteering are often intangible.
Throughout the three years volunteering journey with the Warwick Crafting Happiness team, we have donated various craftwork, including letters, bracelets, self-designed mugs, mini-canvas, origami, tote bags in support of the local community around Coventry and Warwickshire. For examples, in 2022, we have donated around 30 tote bags with food items inside to The LWS Night Shelter ( https://www.lwsnightshelter.org/) , a charitable organisation that is set up to provide additional nights of food and a safe place to sleep for the homeless in Leamington. In addition, we have been regularly engaged in sending letters to sick children by supporting the registered charity PostPals (https://www.postpals.co.uk/). It was simply a rewarding moment to me every time when I delivered the donated items to the charities and witnessed the bright smiles and the genuine “Thank You!” from the representatives. Every time my team supported a charity, I’d believe that we have created a ripple and positive effect in the community. Such positive responses from the recipients of the donations have always been a source of immense happiness, confidence and motivation in my life that is totally intangible. (The benefits of #Volunteering!)
Another powerful thing about Volunteering is that it reminds me about how everybody can be great just because “everybody can serve”. We don’t have to have good grades to serve. We don’t have to be competent to serve. We don’t have to fulfil any requirements to serve. All we need for volunteering is simply a compassionate heart and an willingness to go for it. Regardless of one’s background, intelligence or status, from the perspective of volunteering, we are ALL EQUAL – we help others in a selfless way and that’s what makes us great, and that has nothing to do with our personal pursuits or achievements. We are ALL IN THIS volunteering TEAM together with a common goal of serving the community.
Let’s all learn to engage in volunteering work and together as one, stand for compassion, love and kindness. We feel good not because of our competence and capabilities, but because of the core values we stand for – “WE CAN ALL SERVE AND MAKE AN IMPACT”.
– An honest and sincere reflection by project leader Cheris So, Final Year LLB
