“Why Did I Choose to Volunteer?”

Understanding what goes on in the mind of a volunteer.

“‘Volunteering’ — what are your thoughts when you see this word?”

Hello everyone! I’m Charlene, and I have been interning at bantu for the past two months.

As I was preparing this article, I thought long and hard if I should just outline a guide to ‘Why Volunteering Is Good For You’ or ‘Top 3 Reasons Why You Should Volunteer’, but then I thought to myself: Wouldn’t it be better if I shared a personal story about my understanding on what being a volunteer means?

So here it goes, storytime!

I was very skeptical about ‘volunteering’

Let me start with a short #throwback. Five years ago (when I was young and naïve), I saw volunteering as an activity for either the ‘super-altruistic people’ or the ones who had ‘too much spare time on their hands’. I mean, what do you really get out of spending a few hours with people/animals in need? Yes, they would feel happy with your company and you probably will make their day. But when you leave, everything ends there. How could that mere few hours impact somebody or something? It just didn’t sound convincing to me.

Don’t get me wrong — I love helping people, and I too, experienced the joy of receiving help. I just wasn’t convinced that my one-time-off appearance as a volunteer would mean anything for the person, much less being able to form deep connections or offer useful support to the person in need.

I felt that the best way to start truly understanding the rationale behind volunteerism, was to actually try volunteering myself. Which is why, in the last half of 2018, I decided to volunteer on a long- and short-term basis with various projects.

What did I get out from volunteering long- and short- term?

One simple word — satisfaction.

You might think, ‘What? That’s all you got?’. Well, yes! But truly, the satisfaction I felt from volunteering is something I had never experienced before. It was the feeling of accomplishment from fulfilling wishes, needs or expectations.

So, I signed up as a volunteer tutor with my church. My goal was simple — I wanted the child I was tutoring to improve and to enjoy learning. The first few sessions were tough. I had thoughts like “Am I capable enough to be her tutor?” and “What if she doesn’t improve with my tutoring?”. However, as the weeks went by, I started gaining a momentum I never anticipated — delighting in the process of tutoring without any feelings of dreadfulness. Before I knew it, six months flew by.

Thinking back now, I realised that I was satisfied not because I reached my goals but because I fulfilled my wish. What is this wish you must be wondering — it was to understand how I was impacting the life of this child. Throughout the six months of tutoring, I realised that it was not just about getting good grades for the kid, but that I was able to be part of her life — I was someone she could talk freely to and rely on for support.

That’s what volunteerism is about — being connected and a part of someone’s life without any terms or motives.

Volunteering comes from the heart, and when you do things from the heart, you get filled — with love.

Let’s shift the attention away from me and talk about:

How did the people I reached out to benefit from my act of volunteerism?

I have never been a fan of one-time-off volunteerism because I never saw how it could impact the lives of people I interacted with. And yeah, I was so wrong about this.

I decided to sign up as an ad-hoc volunteer for a three-hour visit to an old-folks home in Singapore. Well, I did say that I never believed in one-time-off volunteerism, but I thought since they needed volunteers, I had time and I could speak Hokkien (though not very fluently) so… why not?

The next thing I knew, I was there in the old folks home getting briefed on my assignment. I was assigned to Mdm M, a 70-year-old lady diagnosed with dementia. Mdm M was jovial, warm, friendly and had many stories to tell. As I interacted with her, I realised that all she needed was for someone to talk to. She didn’t need me for three hours everyday — all she needed was perhaps some company for just once a week.

I realised there and then that these one-time-off events can set one on the path of volunteerism. When you realise that you don’t want your impact to be limited to that one event — that is the beginning of your journey as a volunteer.

So, what is your trigger point?

Have you tried volunteering for a cause you are passionate about? It is okay to start small (like one-time-off events), and if you don’t know how to start, let me give you a little tip:

You can sign up as a volunteer with bantu.life and you will be able to see a range of ongoing volunteer projects. Just choose and register for the one(s) you are passionate about and you’re well on your way to touching the lives of others!

So why did I choose to volunteer? I volunteer because I don’t want the warm fuzzy feeling I get, knowing that my actions and simple gestures have impacted the lives of people I interacted with, to ever go away.

And this is why I choose to volunteer.