Volunteer Diaries — Howard

“Start with something you care about! There are numerous volunteering opportunities all around so you will definitely find something that can fit your passion and schedule. I highly recommend Skills For Good to everyone, whether you are looking to start your volunteer journey or a veteran in volunteering!”

While studying at Temasek Polytechnic, 25-year-old Jian Ann (Howard) started his volunteering journey on an ad hoc basis by volunteering at events and programmes promoted by his social circle.

So what gave Howard, now a final-year Sociology undergraduate at Nanyang Technological University, the inspiration to step into the volunteering world? His personal growth and life story. During his young days, Howard came from a background that required several formal and informal social support to get by. Having personally interacted with the volunteers and benefitted from their valuable help and support, he decided that it was a good time and opportunity to give back to society.

When asked what he enjoys most about volunteering, Howard gave a definite answer — that it allows him to use his skills and capabilities to make an impact for the betterment of society. Through Skills For Good, Howard had the opportunity to volunteer with Filos, a not-for-profit social service organisation that focuses on building the strengths of the community we live in.

Utilising his skills, Howard helped facilitate a breakout room for Filo’s webinar as he saw the importance of having one. The webinar focused on engaging volunteers in the new ecosystem, as well as supporting volunteering initiatives in the navigation of the COVID-19 landscape.

To Howard, Skills For Good is an initiative that makes his volunteering experience convenient by constructing volunteering commitments on a project basis. As an individual with erratic schedules and being unable to commit to consistent programmes, Skills For Good effectively allows volunteers like Howard to volunteer at their own pace.

About Skills for Good

Skills for Good, a local volunteer-matching organisation, with a base of eclectic volunteers with skills ranging from marketing and communications to information technology to fundraising. We seek to empower volunteers through convenient and meaningful skills-based volunteering opportunities that help social organisations to achieve their mission.​Volunteer with us today and wake up tomorrow with the warm and fuzzy sensation of ‘volunesia’.

Read our previous post to learn more on the effects of COVID-19 on the volunteering scene.

Some exciting news

For our upcoming stories, we will be featuring first-hand accounts of volunteers. If you have been positively shaped by Skills-Based Volunteering, drop us an email to share about it with us!

Author: Kok Nee Tsu