If you are currently volunteering describe your volunteer activity and explain your motivation for continuing your volunteer work.

Self-Assessment #5: Understanding Volunteerism

According to the text, volunteering is not only an opportunity to give back to your community and/or organization for everything it has done for you, it also provides free on-the-job training, helps you explore possible careers, builds your résumé, and establishes networking connections (and perhaps letters of recommendation). A recent survey of volunteers also found that volunteer work was directly linked to career advancement because volunteers learned leadership skills, developed confidence, practiced interpersonal cooperation, and enhanced communication skills while they volunteered (WOMEN’S WAY, 2006, as cited in About.com, 2014).

For this self-assessment, you will research and discuss the benefits of volunteer work. Consider what might motivate you to volunteer your time and talent. What sort of volunteer opportunity might fit well with your personality, needs, and values?

Read Chapter 10, Box 10-7, Focus on Wellness: Volunteering in America to learn more about volunteering in America. Explore these websites to find a volunteer opportunity in your locale: Volunteer Match, available at: www.volunteermatch.org, United We Serve: Corporation for National and Community Service, available at: www.serve.gov, and Volunteers of America, available at: www.voa.org.

Compose a 200-300 word essay explaining the benefits of volunteering.

• If you are currently volunteering describe your volunteer activity and explain your motivation for continuing your volunteer work. Who or what inspired you to begin volunteering?
• If you are not currently involved in volunteer work, what might motivate you to begin? In what area might you find satisfying to work as a volunteer? Why?