Volunteering
offers vital help to people in need, worthwhile causes, and the
community, but the benefits can be even greater for you, the volunteer.
Volunteering and helping others can help you reduce stress, combat
depression, keep you mentally stimulated, and provide a sense of
purpose. While it’s true that the more you volunteer, the more benefits
you’ll experience, volunteering doesn’t have to involve a long-term
commitment or take a huge amount of time out of your busy day. Giving in
even simple ways can help others those in need and improve your health
and happiness.
1. You make
strategies for the country/world
While in
schools and colleges you plan to change a few things here and there, in an NGO
your plans can go much beyond. You plan and strategize to change the
country, the world. Your targets are not 1 week or 2 weeks but spread across
years and decades. Lakshyam is one of the best NGO in Delhi which provides the training facilities for volunteer, and we have the best volunteer programs in India.
2. Better
networking:
This is the
best networking you can possibly get. In the corporate world your networks are
based on mutual benefit, but in NGO it’s for a common goal. In
most other types of networking ,your Network is a list of your acquaintances
but, in the NGO world it is a list of people who become your best buddies,your
mentors ,people you respect and people who respect you.
3.Lesser Egos:
It has been
observed that behavior of people change when they are in a situation where
they are reminded of moral values and idealism, such as near Schools, in
churches and in temples. This is exactly why when you meet truly dedicated
people in an NGO you will see their Guards down, people become much more
open, much more ready to change and much more inclined to listen to all points
of view. Suddenly there can be order in the chaos of an NGO
decision-making process.
4. It opens
your mind:
Try working
with any NGO and you will see what I mean, you gain a sense of perspective
and start seeing the impact of small things. You realize what is more important
5. Leadership:
The chances of
being a leader or learning leadership are much more in NGO sector than any
other. It takes about 4-5 years to become a team lead in an IT field but
in an NGO you could be doing that the moment you join. It all depends on
what you are willing to do .It is not necessary to even join them full-time.
More
importantly, you can learn the meaning of true leadership very early
on such as
Ø
Post does not
matter as much as the work/role
Ø
Difference
between enforced leadership and earned leadership
Ø
Importance of
NOT being a leader sometimes
Ø
How to be a
good follower
Ø
How to motivate
people
While I did
point out various Pros of working with NGOs, I am not discounting the exposure
and experience you get in the corporate sector. This article is simply to
point out some of the very unique takeaways from NGO sector.
My personal
belief is that your learning and personal growth can be accelerated by
working for an ngo. Remember when you join an NGO, you are not just doing it
for giving back to society, but are also gaining much more.
