Ask around and people will tell you that volunteer work helps you learn skills and gain experience that is helpful on resumes.
High school and university or college students are learning classroom knowledge that needs to be applied in the real world.
Rusty skills that have not been used for a while can be brushed up and honed.
That desire to try something new to see if you might be good at it—if you might like it—if you only had a chance. Volunteering is a good way to go.
You can volunteer while vacationing or even take a vacation specifically to volunteer. Your volunteer test run with new skills might last less than a day as you help out at an event.
If you know what you want to do, why not approach the charity and make an offer? Ask about the possibility of shadowing or being mentored.
Want to improve your interpersonal skills through working with a diverse group? What about your written, verbal and non-verbal communication skills?
Maybe you want to try organizing an activity or managing a project.
You can gain knowledge about a subject that sparks your interest, like a health issue, coaching a sport, music appreciation or the environment.
Fundraising and technical or office skills are also often developed when volunteering, according to the Canada Survey of Giving, Volunteering and Participating done by Statistics Canada in 2010.
If you are not sure what you want to do, KCR has three self-quizzes. Why do you want to volunteer? What interests you? What skills do you want to share?
These quizzes are found at www.kcr.ca, Community Services, For Volunteers.
Or click on the Volunteer Opportunities Search Central Okanagan and see which charities are currently recruiting and type of work they need done.
