Finding your way through volunteerism

So fun fact, I love volunteering. It’s been the one thing that has kept me grounded through all of the chaos that life can throw at you.

 I gravitated to volunteerism in my early teens, as part of a summer job program ( yup, those use to exist) I worked as a student assistant at a community center in Minneapolis that provided after-school services to elementary and middle school, Indigenous kids.

 Besides tutoring, preparing lunches, and being a farmhand, more on that later, that summer job was a conduit of learning about community engagement that I still think about to this day.

 What made the center special was the indigenous community it served. As part of the mission of the center, the children that attended were provided foundational lessons on their heritage and how their contributions matter to the community, children learned about indigenous rituals and the importance of maintaining those rituals. But what about the farm, you ask? One day a week the summer hires went to a farm to help pick vegetables for a widow who had very little farm help.

This may sound sketchy but as a kid who had very little exposure to farm life it was intriguing, plus we had access to the pool on the property and could take home fresh food and vegetables, so it was a win-win for me, BUT most importantly those vegetables picked also landed on the tables of the children who attend the after-school program. After spending a summer at the community center. I left Minneapolis but never forgot about the experience. As time passed and work, school and life happened, I often managed to always find a way to do some volunteering.

 As my views and personal story took shape over time I discovered that intentional volunteering became more important for me.

 Like anything that you pursue, your ultimate goal should be to not only make an impact but to be able to connect the work you’re doing to other broader parts of your life. Intentional volunteerism centers on the causes that you find important so that those experiences can be translated into other parts of your life.

 For me, intentional volunteerism has fostered new experiences and learnings. I’ve had conversations in rooms with people of different backgrounds and cultures and have been provided more understanding and essential knowledge on topics that I had some or very little education on.

 My intentional volunteering for the past several years has focused on civic and community engagement. I’m a strong proponent of finding a way to make change even if that change is as small as a city block.

Ultimately when you step into volunteering, know that you’re entering into a shared commitment, and make sure that you’re honoring those commitments, but also bring to the table your ideas and your time.

Happy Women’s History Month

XoXo

BGW