The number of reasons to volunteer is infinite. Some of the most apparent include – to feel the gratification of lending a hand, spread joy, and strengthen your connections with your community. However, have you considered the long-term path that your good deeds of volunteering can take you on?
Volunteens not only wants to promote opportunities for teens to give back now and reap the incredible short-term benefits of contributing their time, but also demonstrate the future possibilities volunteering can hold. To do this, we are introducing a series focusing on fellow volunteers who have written articles outlining how volunteering has changed the course of their lives.
Keep an eye out for regular instalments of this new series, beginning with the story of UnitingCare’s Volunteer Experience Manager, DJ Cronin.
How volunteering in my youth changed my life: DJ Cronin
I grew up in the countryside outside a small rural village in Ireland. It was a lovely community where people looked out for one another and supported each other. To that end, a sense of community and helping out your community was instilled at a very young age. I first started volunteering in a formal sense when I joined a local group called the Social Action Group. We visited people in hospitals, held Christmas lunches for seniors and cut turf (You’ll have to google that one) to provide fuel to those who needed it to provide heat for the cold winters. I did a lot of fundraising for the group. I even raised money through carol signing door to door and playing in 24 hour basketball matches! But we ended up raising enough money to build our own club house and then retirement villages for our elderly! Volunteering had a very positive impact on me. I made new friends and social connections and the act of helping others made me feel good too. I gained valuable life skills, important soft skills and it gave me a better understanding of how organisations operate. You could say that I have continued volunteering in one way or another for the last 40 years! Today I am the manager of one of the largest volunteer involving organisations in Queensland with over 8,500 people gifting their time to UnitingCare
There are so many benefits for young people who decide to volunteer including but to limited to
- Mental Health
- Connection
- New Friendships
- The gratitude you will feel knowing you are helping others
- Your resume
- Your career
- Your experience of the world
There are many reports and research done on the benefits of volunteering for young people. But as a manager of volunteers for the past 17 years I have seen the direct impact volunteering had had on young people. I’ve seen the most shy and timid volunteer go on to be talkative and confident. I’ve seen young volunteers make friendships that still last today even after their volunteering ended. I’ve seen young volunteers in our organisation transition into paid jobs here.
After a life of school and/or TAFE and university young people enter workplaces. It’s a brand new world! One of the other benefits of volunteering is that it give you a look at how organisations and workplaces operate. You may be a young person with aspirations for a career in any type of medical field or in Aged Care or in Marketing or Business management. By volunteering in areas that call to you as a career it’s the best place to start. You can volunteer in many different areas in not for profit organisations. Along the way you make connections and learn some new skills.
Today I found a letter from two young volunteers who wrote to me and my volunteer coordinator when I was a volunteer manager at a hospital years ago. Yes – I kept it! The letter was from two 17 year olds who had volunteered. They had both just retired from volunteering as their studies was then involving an absolute full time commitment.
They made a large thank you card together. In it was a letter. It was written by both volunteers. This is no ordinary letter. It is a heartfelt letter from two young ladies on how volunteering has changed their lives forever. It is a letter from 2 volunteers named Charini and Lisa.
It is a letter that brought a tear to my eye. It is a letter that confirmed why I love the job that I do.
Too often our youth get a bad rap. This is a letter to shine the positive light on youth that so many deserve.
I hope you get out of it as much as I did.
Volunteerism is in good hands if this is the general view of our future generation. With thanks to Charini and Lisa – here is their letter slightly abridged to protect identify:
“Dearest DJ, Wendy and Volunteers,
Exactly a year ago, we had just completed the most stressful year of our lives and had finally graduated from school. Although we were elated at the prospect of never having to fold down our socks again, we were at a major crossroad with numerous life-changing decisions to make. At this stage, we are still unable to say if we chose the right paths with many of those decisions. However, we are able to say that one of the earliest choices we made was, without a shadow of a doubt, one of the best. That decision was, of course, to volunteer at your hospital.
We breezed through our interview and from that moment we both knew that it was here that we’d learn precious lessons about life.
At first we found volunteering very challenging, especially conversing with patients. I (Charini) remember on my second day, I was partnered with Andrew and we were talking to an elderly gentleman. The conversation was quite light and humorous, when, out of the blue, the patient said “I lost my leg”. This was the first time a patient had discussed such a personal issue in front of me and my mind went completely blank. I don’t remember the rest of the conversation because I was so shocked. However, I must have been listening to Andrew subconsciously, because only a few months later, I met a lady who confided in me that she was going to die. To this day, that is one of the most dreadful sentences I’ve heard. This time, I was a little more prepared but at the back of my mind, I kept asking myself,” What can you do that’s of any use to this lady? You have no medical training. You’re only 17, you don’t know anything about death. How can YOU help?” By the time I left her room, half an hour later, I had my answer. I could make her smile. And that, I realised, is the power of a volunteer. That is the gift we give.
Another time, I (Lisa) met a gentleman in his 90’s. We had been talking for quite some time when I realised his feet had not stopped moving throughout our entire conversation. When I asked him about it, he explained that he loved to dance and took his wife out every Friday night to do just that. Dance. The simplicity of his story was awe-inspiring. It was a story of courage, love of life and pursuing dreams. It made me think, “If this gentleman can go dancing every week despite the various health issues facing him at his age… What can I do? What will I achieve?” One day, I will be able to answer these questions and on that day, I will remember the man who taught me that not even the sky is the limit.
This year has been a tremendous year and a phenomenal experience for us both. It goes without saying that it would not have been such an amazing year without each and every one of the volunteers whom we have met and even those we have yet to encounter. For the incredible memories you’ve given us, thank you. Thank you for welcoming us into the volunteering circle with such warmth and acceptance. Thank you for your friendship; your bright shining faces and vibrant, loving personalities have made us look forward to coming in every week. It’s so heartening to know that there is a group of people with a wealth of life experience in the community who are willing to give their time to help others.
A special thanks must go to both DJ and Wendy for guiding us, supporting us and letting us learn from our mistakes. Both your jovial and compassionate personalities are so illuminating it is undeniably evident even through your phone greetings. Thank you for blessing us with the opportunity; words cannot express just how grateful we are.
And so we leave you with just one more story…
One day, we met a patient called Graham. In a word, he was amazing. We must have sat with him for at least an hour and a half before being called away. He gave us new perspectives on life, he gave us stories of childhood. In turn, we gave him laughter, our hopes and dreams for our future and of course more, more laughter. We never saw Graham again but he has always stayed with us. And we’ve truly come to believe that for every volunteer, there is a “Graham”. So watch out for him. He’s out there.”
Those two young people had the courage to write this letter. I encourage you to give volunteering a go. Find a cause you are passionate about. I would not be where I am today without volunteering. It can change lives, yours included!
DJ Cronin
Volunteer Experience Manager
UnitingCare