Make and Keep Your New Year’s Resolution to Volunteer

1 Positive actions and starting positive habits should always be on your resolution list - exercise more, finish The Economist. I invite you to also add personal outreach to the community -- plan the positive action to start and maintain a regular volunteer commitment. A <a href="http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/year-to-volunteer-helping-others-in-2010-among-leading-new-years-resolutions-for-americans-survey-shows-80222987.html" target="_blank">survey</a> conducted in November by Kelton Research, a New York-based organization, revealed that 59 percent of Americans are resolving to volunteer in 2010 – please join us! <div style="margin: 0px; padding: 5px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"> For some of us that’s weekly, others bi-weekly or monthly, others four weekends a year. Why volunteer? It’s not just a selfless act; it’s also a selfish act. I say that because giving freely of our time to help others, without any monetary payment is selfless. But based on the level of satisfaction most volunteers feel at the end of their shift, the friends you make, the lives you touch, the good you do -- you might say it’s pretty selfish when you get to feel that good. The key to keeping your resolution – and having a great volunteer experience – is planning. Make a list of three organizations that you really feel excited about helping or have a passionate interest in their work. The trick is it only has to matter why YOU like it – it’s your choice. So if you really want to help out in the community recycling center, the afterschool sports program, or the antique tool museum doing school outreach, that’s up to you. Get a little excited. Next, contact those organizations via phone or email and find out what kind of help they need. See if you find both a skill match and an interest match.  See if it feels like it will feel meaningful. What do I mean by that? Meaningful to someone who wants personal contact might mean volunteering to read books to kids in protective custody and making that a regular part of their schedule. Meaningful to someone who just wants to labor but not work directly with needy individuals could mean stocking inventory in a food pantry. Warning: Don’t proceed if you either don’t get good guidance from the organizations as to what they can have you do OR it doesn’t feel right to you. I hate doing taxes – would I feel great about helping people file their forms as a volunteer job? No. And since this is a New Year’s resolution you want to keep, and is supposed to make you happy, make sure you connect with something meaningful to you. Once you’ve identified your group, your role and your time commitment – plan it, schedule it, block the time on your calendar. (That’s also the key to losing weight, or quitting smoking, if those are part of your suite of New Year’s resolutions, too.) And don’t let anything knock those commitments off your calendar. And then, show up. Happy New Year, it’s 2010. Fast forward to April. You may have lost the 10 pounds (you may have gained it back…it’s okay!) and I really hope the quit smoking program worked! The volunteering? It’s part of who you are now, it’s a great part of your identity, your self-image, you’ve widened your social circle, maybe gained new skills and new connections and you feel like you’ve really accomplished something after every volunteer shift you work. So please – make and keep your New Year’s Resolution to Volunteer. And enjoy it! About the author: Mary Firme regularly volunteers at schools and in the community and has helped thousands of groups and individuals as part of  team VolunteerSpot (<a href="http://www.VolunteerSpot.com/" target="_blank">http://www.VolunteerSpot.com</a>) the creator of innovative, web-based, super easy yet powerful tools that take the hassle out of volunteer coordination and make it easy to say YES to volunteering. </div>   1

2009-12-30T17:52:16Z

Today we have a guest post from our friend Mary Firme at VolunteerSpot. Hope you enjoy and make sure to check them out! DOING GOOD just got easier!  (<a href="http://www.VolunteerSpot.com/" target="_blank">http://www.VolunteerSpot.com</a>) New Year’s Resolutions are often focused on correcting negative habits – quit smoking, eat less. I like to focus on the positive – start a garden, plant four trees. These small achievable goals help me to balance out whatever failures will ensue from the 7th attempt to lose 10 pounds, because I see the trees, I eat from the garden. I can see the success of my resolutions.

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Make and Keep Your New Year’s Resolution to Volunteer

2010-01-02T22:45:19Z

make-and-keep-your-new-year-resolution-to-volunteer