Five Benefits of Volunteering, from a Volunteer
Hello!
Yesterday, upon the suggestion of the fellow Badass Boss Babe Club member, I volunteered at the Ski for Women.
I’ll admit I knew NOTHING about the Ski for Women, but I had helped with many other events through previous employments, so I figured why not.
And you know what, it was amazing! I had a blast volunteering, much to my surprise. What I had expected was a more monotonous day of seeing people coming through, registering people, and other simple tasks. What I got instead was a front row seat to fantastic costumes, dedicated skiers, and the feeling of helping a cause bigger than me.
Thinking about this post today, I wanted to discuss a different angle about volunteering. There have been numerous articles, videos, and stories about the impact of volunteering has on an organization, community, or to the person receiving the help - but there are so many benefits to the person volunteering too!
The five benefits I experienced volunteering were:
Learning about something new in my community
Like I mentioned before, I new nothing about the Ski for Women, let alone the ski community in Anchorage. I am not a skier… I snowboarded in high school, but I don’t have a desire to become a skier. However, there is a HUGE interest in skiing in my community that I had no idea about. And my learning didn’t stop there!
I was helping at the silent auction tables when the volunteer coordinator told me to keep an eye on the coveted prize - an entry into the Golden Nugget Triathlon. I thought she was joking, but then I saw the excitement from the people, and the bidding sheet quickly started to fill. I asked the volunteer coordinator why this was such a big deal, and she told me it is near impossible to get into this women-only triathlon. (For more information about the Golden Nugget Triathlon, click here.)
The joy of observation
With my minimal knowledge of the Ski for Women, I didn’t realize that costumes were part of the event. I absolutely LOVED seeing the costumes! I saw people in prom dresses, a group of people in bumblebee costumes, and people in pajamas. My favorite costume pair, however, was a tribute to the motive “Superstar”. One of the women was dressed as the movie character Mary Katherine Gallagher. The other was dressed as the actress, Molly Shannon. They were so excited that I understood their costumes!
The satisfaction of making someone’s work load lighter
When I arrived at 8:00 in the morning, the volunteer coordinator seemed stressed and flustered. There was a lot to be done in a small time frame. While the tasks that I did were small - laying out the donated items on the floor and matching the bid sheets to the right item - she was so happy I was there. She was able to focus on other tasks while I worked, and she seemed a little lighter on her feet. Seeing her be able to breath gave me satisfaction that I had made someone’s day a little better.
Making unexpected and beneficial connections
While I was working at the silent auction tables, I would up chatting with another volunteer. She helps run a program for girls at a local school - Girls on the Run. As we chatted about her program, I told her about the club I’m a part of (The Badass Boss Babe Club). We discovered that our two clubs shared the same basic fundamentals, just a different target audience. Through volunteering at the Ski for Women, it opened the door for a potentially exciting collaboration between our two clubs.
Freebies!
While the non-physical benefits of volunteering are enough of a reason to volunteer, I won’t deny it’s fun to get freebies at the same time.
Aside from having the approval to eat at the booths at the Ski for Women (which included Great Harvest bread, Dino’s Donuts, AND a mimosa bar), all the volunteers received a free t-shirt. The shirt was a fun memento for a great day full of new experiences
After my day of volunteering, I can understand why people become “habitual volunteers”. The enjoyment you get from helping others is addicting, to an extent, and makes you feel good about helping a cause.
