The Joy of Volunteer Work
No matter your position on animal rights issues, pet homelessness remains a crucial one. Volunteering your services could make a real difference and save countless animals’ lives.
Volunteers experience a sense of fulfillment from volunteering, including an increased sense of identity and self-worth. These benefits can carry over into daily life and make you even more satisfied about pursuing current and future goals.
1. You Make a Difference
Animal shelters and rescues need volunteers if you want to make an impactful difference in this world. Volunteering at animal shelters/rescues gives back while also making an impressionful statement that you care.
Before volunteering at a shelter, it’s essential that you’re honest with yourself regarding your abilities and availability of time to dedicate. Be sure to inquire into their particular needs and operations for greater understanding.
If a shelter has too many animals for its limited space, they may need to resort to foster care or even euthanasia as a last resort. While this may be heartbreaking for volunteers who have become emotionally attached to certain animals at the shelter, volunteers can still make a tremendous impactful difference by being reliable and devoting time towards helping the animals in need.
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2. You Make New Friends
Participating in groups that aim to help others or animals can bring new connections and expand your social circle, giving you the chance to make friends more easily and make new ones.
Active volunteering can boost both your self-esteem and sense of achievement and purpose, so make sure your projects align with both your individual skillsets and desired personal goals.
Before volunteering at any shelter, most will ask you to complete an application and undergo a background check. If you’re uncertain which organization best matches your interests, visit them personally to witness how their operation runs and ask about policies regarding how animals are treated and whether euthanization occurs.
3. You Learn New Skills
Volunteering often means working as part of a team, providing an ideal way to develop leadership skills which could come in handy later when applying to university or searching for work.
Most animal shelters rely on volunteers for various on and off-site tasks, including fostering animals, photographing adoptable pets for adoption and helping at fundraising events. Some shelters even have specific projects they require assistance with.
As part of their application process, shelters want to know that volunteers are reliable and committed. No one wants to train someone only for them to quit after only a few visits; so be sure to set aside regular time each week for volunteering and prioritize it in your schedule so as not to miss out on any benefits of this experience.
4. You Get a Break from Your Day-to-Day Life
As a college student juggling classes, homework, clubs and socializing can make volunteering challenging to fit into your schedule; however, volunteering for an organization that resonates with you and commits to its cause could become life-altering experience.
Helping others will bring an immense feeling of fulfillment, leading to increased happiness. Plus, building connections across different backgrounds allows you to become more empathic and understanding.
Volunteering not only makes us feel good; it can also bring professional advantages that will aid your job search. By practicing teamwork, communication and project planning skills that many employers value. Furthermore, long-term volunteers tend to live longer with fewer health issues.
5. You Have a Lot of Fun
Volunteering at animal shelters and rescues is an enjoyable way to have loads of fun while making an impactful contribution – in fact, studies show that those who volunteer experience an increase in happiness that rivals that experienced from receiving a raise or other life events.
As well as finding homes for homeless pets, you can also provide invaluable community development work by gardening or beautifying community green spaces or working with children in homelessness shelters. Although many of these jobs require long-term commitments, volunteering gives you an excellent chance to develop skills you’ll use professionally and expand your social circle.