This past Sunday was Earth Day, and though I haven’t directly celebrated the international occasion in quite some time, something about this year was different. On one of the first consistently sunny and mildly warm spring days Boston has seen in a minute, I decided to celebrate Earth Day 2018 by setting a goal for myself to get involved with a cause, not just this spring/summer, but for the long term. Volunteering was something I often did as a teen through college, when volunteering wasn’t necessarily voluntary, but instead something you had to do as part of a curriculum or school requirement, so I’m excited for what the future holds in terms of the impact I’m destined to make. Here are some benefits I see about getting involved with a local or national cause as an adult:
There’s a lot of work to do. Watching the news in today’s world often leaves me scratching my head. I wish there was a simple solution for everything bad that takes place on a daily basis, but unfortunately, as we all know, there is not. There are, however, many ways to be the change:
- Start by nailing down what social issues get under your skin the most.
- Do your research. There’s likely some sort of mission-driven organization (if not multiple) out there fighting this issue you have a shared passion for who is begging for volunteers to help them achieve their mission.
New city, lots of new people to meet. Making friends as an adult can be hard! But as someone who just moved back to the Boston area after a few years spent out-of-state, I understand the importance of getting out there and spending time with friends both old and new in order to fully embrace my very purposeful move to this city. What better way to make friends than to meet doing something you clearly have a shared and passion for?
So much time, wasted. What am I doing on the weekends anyway? Saving up my appetite for dinner out with friends? Spending $17 on a drop-in, hour-long yoga class? Watching YouTube tutorials on how to achieve a certain hairstyle? Weekends were made for these types of activities and there is certainly nothing wrong with that. However, I find that the older I get, the less I have planned on the weekends – especially during the day. Though having downtime is necessary and at times a luxury, so is doing something for the greater good at a time in history where every little contribution makes a difference. Start looking at how you’re spending the majority of your weekend days and decide on whether or not you can spare a few hours to do something great for your community.
There are some great resources out there for those who are looking to get involved in making a social impact in some way. Though I haven’t drilled down exactly what volunteer work I’m going to embark on in my adult life just yet, I’ll be looking to these sites for inspiration over the next few weeks to begin this new chapter.
Happy Volunteering!
