I hardly did any volunteering or even charity before I got associated with Aviratha Trust. Some occasional help directly or indirectly didn’t really matter much. More importantly, whenever I looked around I did not find organizations I felt confident about.
I will write a separate post on my journey with Aviratha.
Busting some myths
- Volunteering does not need financial contribution like membership or donation. You arrange chairs in an event or carry a bucket of water to plant saplings and you are a volunteer. Period.
- Volunteering does not always require physical presence. Every event involves lot of preparatory activities, some of which can be done at the comfort of your home. In today’s world, there are lot of opportunities for virtual volunteering.
- Not all volunteering opportunities need continuous effort. There are one-time, standalone activities as well. Some don’t even need any kind of preparation.
- Volunteering is not a fun activity. It is a serious task. Of course, you must enjoy doing it.
- Volunteering has no age restrictions. If a 10-year-old can do papercrafts, or if a 70-year-old can tell stories to keep the kids engaged, they are in.
In this section, I will write about my volunteering activities, opportunities, hits, misses, and the ones that never took off.