How to become a volunteer?

The list of those in need of volunteer help is huge: children, elderly and lonely people, and disabled people. It seems that helping them is easy, but it is not. Director of the Union of Volunteer Organizations and Movements Vladimir Khromov talks about how to join the ranks of volunteers and what you need to know before making a final decision:

– The easiest way to become a volunteer is to join an existing volunteer movement , which has already established connections with hospitals, shelters for the elderly, disabled people, and so on. But it’s better not to act alone - if we are talking about government institutions, for example an orphanage, then they will most likely refuse your help.

Firstly, because the administration is legally responsible for everything that happens within the walls of the building, and you are still an outsider.

Secondly, single volunteers often underestimate their strength - in 90 percent of cases such people quit this activity. In addition, the volunteer movement has its pitfalls, which novice volunteers are often unaware of. For example, many people believe that helping, say, orphans means giving them gifts. But you need to understand that the child who received the gift will perceive the volunteer as a source of material wealth, and this is wrong.

If there is no volunteer community in your city, then try to create one. As a rule, even in your close circle you can find 3-4 people who are ready to provide free assistance. And then you can go to the management of the social institution and discuss the rules and conditions under which you will provide this assistance. Of course, you need to remember that in volunteering there are no weekends or holidays, no headaches or bad mood.

There are a lot of teaching materials on the Internet on the topic of volunteering - in them you can read about the values, principles and code of conduct of volunteers . I highly recommend checking them out. I would also like to say that volunteers have to deal with difficult life situations in which their charges find themselves, and take an emotional part in their lives. This leads to stress and burnout, so the volunteer needs to monitor sleep and rest schedules and be sure to have some kind of hobby or hobby to distract from everything he has experienced.

Fact

Of 100 people who decide to join the ranks of volunteers, only 30 percent remain in them. The social portrait of a volunteer looks like this: he is a young man from 22 to 35 years old with a higher education, usually a representative of humanitarian professions, with a good job and a stable salary. Mostly women who do not yet have their own family and children volunteer .