Organized volunteer events and activities appeal to certain people because of the cause, but the activity is often a big part of what motivates participation. For example, some people participate in charity walks for fitness and supporting a cause is just an added benefit; others walk motivated simply to support the cause.
With this in mind, we reach part four of our five-part blog series for National Volunteer Week. Let’s take a look at how exploring personal interests and talents can help identify rewarding and fun activities for au pairs, children and families:
Share a special talent! Sharing our talents and interests is a great way to have fun and connect with others in a helpful way. Just as organizations plan events to draw participation by special interests (a road race fundraiser appeals to runners, a bike-a-thon to bikers, a craft sale to crafty folks and so on and so forth), individuals may seek volunteer activities in alignment with personal talents and interests.
You may find this to be the best way to get children interested in volunteering. Simply seek out opportunities related to things they already enjoy, just as you would do for yourself. For example, if you have a drama enthusiast or musician in the family, you may stage a play or concert for a local senior center. For sports enthusiasts, perhaps they can help out as ‘coach in training’ type figures and assist classes and activities with younger students, and for your little bookworm, volunteer opportunities at the local library may be available to help with shelving books, story hours and more.
Reach out to your local community centers and organizations to see what sort of needs they have for volunteers. Then think of ways you can meet those needs to find a means of expressing and exploring your own talents and interests. You’re likely to find that the outcome feels especially rewarding when you reach out to connect from a place of personal significance.
