The Biggest Challenges You Might Face While Volunteering and How You Can Overcome Them
When we think of volunteering, the first thoughts that come to mind are noble, gratifying and fulfilling. We also hear of some professionals describe it as compassion in action and a powerful tool with the ability to mitigate social issues that face our society, be it poverty, hunger, lack of awareness and education, gender inequality or climate change.
Volunteers are generally perceived to be energised and empathetic citizens who work tirelessly to drive change and the benefits of volunteering are well- acknowledged. However, it is equally true that it takes more than energy and passion to be a consistent volunteer. There are several challenges that come in the path of volunteering and every volunteer faces some of these at different points of their journey.
They encounter obstacles and difficulties while giving their time and addressing them can also help in overcoming them, which in turn will make the volunteering experience fulfilling and smooth. So let’s dive right in to some of the common challenges we volunteers face:
- Time commitment: Balancing volunteer work with other personal and professional commitments can be challenging. Volunteers may find it difficult to dedicate sufficient time to their chosen cause which is why you must always clarify the time required, ensure that the volunteering fits into your schedule in terms of time and distance, not causing any imbalance or stress.
- Burnout: Unfortunately, volunteer burnout is a common challenge that volunteers face. Overcommitting or working long hours as a volunteer can result in fatigue, reduced motive and even health issues. It’s always wiser to start slow, ease into the volunteering schedule and then amp it up.
- Skills and Training: Some volunteer positions may require specific skills or training. Volunteers may need to invest time in acquiring these skills before they can be effective in their roles. Always take up a volunteering task that matches your skill set and ask to be oriented to the volunteering opportunity.
- Resource Constraints: Many volunteer organizations operate on limited budgets and resources. Volunteers may have to work with limited supplies, equipment and funding. This is the reality of our sector and it should be known to every volunteer.
- Emotional Toll: Depending on the nature of volunteering, dealing with emotionally challenging situations, such as working with vulnerable persons or in disaster relief, can take a toll on volunteers’ mental and emotional well-being. It is important to understand your mental strengths and limitations and then opt for volunteering projects. If being around very grim or vulnerable people makes you feel low, opt for volunteering like teaching, animal welfare, environment related activities in the open and more.
- Lack of Recognition: As volunteers, sometimes you may not receive the appreciation you deserve for their hard work, which can make you feel undervalued and demotivated. Join an organisation that values and appreciates your efforts, expresses it through recognition and the occasional celebration.
- Safety Concerns: Depending on the nature of the volunteer work, there may be safety concerns or risks involved. Volunteers may need to take precautions or undergo safety training before they start on any such projects. Its best to work with an organisation that follows structure and has safety norms in place.
- Inadequate Support: Some volunteer organizations may not provide sufficient support or supervision for volunteers, leaving them feeling isolated or unsure of their roles. In such a case, reach out to the volunteer coordinator and clarify all doubts as well as ask for some form of presence from the NGO or the volunteering organisation.
- Logistics and Transportation: Getting to and from volunteer locations can be a logistical challenge, especially for volunteers who rely on public transportation or have mobility issues. It’s important to plan your volunteering around places that are not very inconvenient for you to reach.
- Language and Cultural Barriers: In multicultural settings, volunteers may face language and cultural barriers that can make communication and integration challenging. However, it is also a good opportunity to learn a new language and till then, hang on to someone who speaks the language of the place.
- Sustainability: Maintaining long-term commitment to volunteering can be challenging. Volunteers may struggle to sustain their enthusiasm and engagement over time. This can be prevented if you choose volunteering according to the availability and convenience of your time and discuss the same with the volunteering organisation. It’s always possible to take a short break and get back to volunteering as well.
- Legal and Liability Issues: Some causes and communities are vulnerable and working with them can have some legal dos and don’ts. Always familiarize yourself with volunteering protocol and understand if there are any legal or liability concerns.
Overall, volunteering can be rewarding as well as challenging. It is important for volunteers to be prepared and seek the support they need to navigate the challenges they face. Once overcome, volunteering can be immensely rewarding and can lead to personal growth, acquiring new skills, and a strong sense of purpose. Many volunteers find that the positive impact they make on their chosen cause or community outweighs the difficulties they encounter along the way and volunteer organizations can also help mitigate these challenges by providing proper training, support, and recognition to their volunteers. As once said, “those who don’t want to face their challenges shall always face challenges.”
As a society, we have the ability and the responsibility to make our city more compassionate, inclusive stable and peaceful. Volunteers are people who believe that change begins with them and here’s what they do to make their presence matter.
A conversation can change your life, especially a transformational conversation on volunteering. Conversations on how volunteering affects another person’s life positively can, in turn, be a catalyst in making your life purposeful. Donating blood for a crucial cause is an evolved form of volunteering and there is an urgent need for young, healthy donors to come forth and donate blood for needy people who don’t have the means to access it. These are people in government or charitable hospitals, being treated for cancer, thalassemia or undergoing a surgery. They could be adults or children who need donated blood to live on. And though it’s never spoken, they have always relied on donors to save their lives.
CV organises regular blood donation camps for our corporate partners and institution partners , on their premise, at their convenience. Every camp is preceded by an informative and interactive awareness session with doctors, who sensitize volunteers on the benefits of blood donation, even to donors’ health, and persuade them to become donors. This is complemented by awareness of stem cell donation and the importance of stem cells from adult donors.
We recently organised a blood donation camp on the premises of our volunteer, Magnetic FAAC India Pvt. Ltd. and welcomed volunteers ( from the company and citizens around OMR) to donate blood for children being treated for Thalassemia. The camp was organised at their office with a mobile setup, making it convenient for employees and members of the community to participate. Every prospective donor was screened and checked for various parameters and then informed if they were fit to donate. It was a seamless process that we have been sharing with volunteers, for decades and it helps hundreds of people save lives without stepping out of their office. CV is hosting many such camps at several corporate volunteers’ offices through July.
Do reach out to us if you are interested in taking part as well.
Fast Facts on how donating blood can benefit you as a donor:
- A free health screening with senior doctor who will check your vital signs to ascertain if you are fit enough to donate blood. They cover all your health concerns, conditions and make you very aware of your overall health.
- A healthier heart and vascular system: Regular blood donation is linked to lowering of blood pressure and a lowering risk for heart attacks. Our body generates fresh blood soon and thats why it is recommended that you donate blood once in three months.
- Your live a happier and fulfilled life: The one pint of blood that you donate can help save upto three lives. Volunteers donate to help others in need and this gives you a sense of fulfilment and volunteering is strongly linked to positive health, prevents depression and gifts longevity.
- On a lighter note, you get a free snack and the opportunity to meet and mingle with like-minded altruistic people.
Must dos’ when you plan to give blood:
- Eat well beforehand, don’t skip breakfast and do not gym or workout strenuously for the rest of the day. You can go about with your usual day though. This helps you handle the rest of the day easily.
- Make sure you eat the snack and juice offered after the donation and rest for 10 minutes after donating blood.
- Drink plenty of water and stay hydrated so that it is easier to find your veins and prevents you from becoming light-headed after donating.
- Go through the mandatory information on blood donation that is shared by us.
Volunteers play an important role in building the foundation of compassionate and inclusive communities, through meaningful intervention. They have the potential to become a force of good once they learn, through experience, that they can be a catalyst of positive change. As they move on, they become our ears and eyes on the field, wherein their feedback and inputs propel us to improvise constantly. However, it’s always the first taste that whets or weans their appetite for volunteering.
The first step in volunteering should mandatorily be an introductory orientation. It is imperative as it welcomes, introduces and engages the new volunteers to get them started on their new journey. It also demystifies volunteering, gives them an aerial view of what lies ahead and of course, helps us get to know them. At Chennai Volunteers, we prefer to have smaller meets every month but, at times, that may not be possible, especially when the new volunteers are students. It’s always large groups but we ensure that we get a moment with each one, to understand their unique ability.
At the beginning of every orientation, we always acknowledge each volunteer as an individual with a unique skillset. Every single person has a strength that they may or may not be aware of and if we can help them tap into that, they could be a volunteer for life. At CV, an orientation also includes:
- A quick introduction by volunteers
- An introduction to mission and core values of our organisation
- An overview of our role: what we do and how we go about our work
- A brief on the persisting volunteering needs at that point and programmes to address them
- Sensitisation to the NGO sector and the communities we engage with
- Volunteer protocol, processes and expectation setting
- Importance of feedback, regular response and improvisations to finally measure impact
- Mapping of volunteers to various programmes, based on their suitability and availability
- Separate on-boarding sessions with the core volunteers of each programme
- Short talk by a lead volunteer who shares his or her volunteering journey
- Short experience sharing by an inspiring NGO partner who shares how volunteers have helped their students or beneficiaries, as the case may be.
- The orientation takes within an hour, is designed to be very interactive and we conclude with some conversations over coffee, with our new friends. The effort is to make them feel welcome, comfortable and above all, committed to a common goal.
The past month at CV has been incredible… we’ve been visiting our partner institutions (colleges) to meet our new friends, who are back in college after two years! It been nothing short of exhilarating to orient new student volunteers, initiate them into programs, elucidate volunteer protocol, share insights and institute active response into the design. Some of them have been on the field for over a month now and their experience sharing makes the friends eager to start. Needless to say, it’s been frenetic but we are ready for more because the collective energy we create is almost magical.
If the pandemic has taught us anything, it’s to appreciate volunteering that has no fear attached to it and is filled with positivity and passion. So here’s to more ‘happy volunteering’, more hands on the field and more smiles at our partner institutions. Let compassion, collective responsibility and commitment be the values we wear as we volunteer together and make this year truly impactful.
The adage ‘practice makes perfect’ came alive in our realm of volunteering this summer, in more ways than one. While it did apply partially to developing new skills, it was best demonstrated in developing empathy among young volunteers. As we know, volunteering can be described as empathy in action and this summer saw us guide young volunteers, while observing how it transformed them. We were delighted to note that the more regularly teenagers volunteered, the better they became at imbibing and demonstrating empathy, and it got heightened by leaps and bounds.
Let me take a few steps back and state that it’s been an incredible summer of volunteering. Our Chennai summer starts sooner, and April and May saw the city experience a high degree of warmth, in terms of both temperature and compassion. We re-started our summer camp, “Summer Camp for Champs” (after a gap of three years) across several partner institutions for children from under represented communities, some with different abilities. The objective was single point – fun, fun and more fun! The past couple of years had been grim for these children and we wanted the summer to sparkle for them.
We started our camps with the best of volunteers, professional, skilled and adult. It started off with aplomb and was received very well by the beneficiaries. That’s when we thought of making the summer immersive for young teenaged volunteers too. Afterall, youngsters had been socially isolated across the board and would find volunteering a definite way to give back to community, while boosting their self-confidence. What better way to help them move away from social isolation, than through volunteering and making them ‘pro-social’.
This gave birth to a new vertical of summer internship (for high school students) at CV. We onboarded a group of high school teenagers as summer interns and let them experiment with innovative formats in volunteering, under close guidance. And what can I say? They absolutely excelled, energising every session, making every day a celebration and surprised even themselves!
As they thrived, they learnt more about their ability to give back, display empathy and show compassion. We, at CV noted that while we are all internally wired with the capacity for empathy, its development requires experience and practice. And there’s no better time to do this than when we’re young and impressionable. Children and teenagers are receptive and have the ability to understand the feelings of others, if guided suitably. They organically imbibe the ability to put themselves into another’s shoes, be aware of their emotions, respect others’ perspectives, and this becomes stronger with practice.
Empathy helps us relate to others, work together and form healthy bonds which are the cornerstone of a progressive society. When we feel the pain of those who are most vulnerable, empathy is what makes us want to offer support.
Dalai Lama once said, “Modern education is premised strongly on materialistic values. It is vital that when educating our children’s brains that we do not neglect to educate their hearts, a key element of which has to be the nurturing of our compassionate nature.”
Volunteering fills this gap. It develops and nurtures compassion in young people, by helping them practise empathy. This leads to not judging others and creating a positive and happy space for everyone.
On the larger scape, empathy also makes communities more equitable, inclusive and compassionate, and volunteering plays a significant role in its creation. It teaches youngsters to act with empathy regularly and when volunteering is enjoyable, it becomes easy to continue. The energetic teenagers who interned with CV over this summer led by example and by the end of their term, they felt the following:
• Confident that they could make a difference. They learnt the value of helping others and saw how they can have an impact beyond themselves. They validated it day after day, group after group and felt more motivated.
• Connected with diverse set of people with similar values. Away from their sheltered bubble, they worked closely with people from very different backgrounds and abilities, and forged common interests and values. This made them appreciate other people’s perspectives and be more aware.
• Equipped to face the world with new life skills. Volunteering helped these teenagers build new skills with confidence. From showing up on time, engaging in different formats of volunteering and letting their work speak for itself, it represented life beyond what they were used to. They led effortlessly, solved crises on their feet, and took decisions on the spot.
• Aware of different career opportunities. Volunteering at various non-profits gave them an insight into new career options ahead of them. It widened their horizon and learnt that every career can also offer an opportunity to solve a real world problem.
In fact, these young interns encouraged us to extend our summer camp to additional NGOs as well. In CV’s summer of 2022, they came, they volunteered and they conquered! Their performance was endorsed by our NGO partners, senior volunteers and social workers who supervised them. Thereby making high school student summer internships at CV a definite vertical for the future.
Moreover, they all want to continue volunteering with their school schedule and some of them shared how they felt:
Akshara, Class X student at Sishya:
“I think this volunteering internship has been a very insightful and amazing experience. I love seeing the fascination and interest in these children to learn new things. It was also an amazing opportunity to teach the specially-abled children art & craft and seeing the smiles on their faces made my day! Not only did I teach them but they also taught me a lot. I feel very grateful to be involved in bringing joy to these children.”
Aiswarya, Grade XII student at Omega International
“It’s been a wonderful experience to volunteer both online and offline in a short span of time. CV taught me to volunteer in a structured system with co-ordination and volunteer-friendly communication aids that helped me engage during the volunteering activities with ease and interest. It was also delightful to see the vast accessibility of volunteering services to people in need of help.
This process was personally a platform of learning things a little closer and CV was extensively supportive.”
Sudithi, class X student from Sishya:
“Volunteering has been an eye opener for me. I have learned so much! I never knew the amount of coordinating and planning that goes into volunteering. Teaching at Sacred Heart and leading the summer camp at Madras Seva Sadan was a real joy. Seeing the kids so excited to learn, being so open to new things really gave me a new perspective on how I should be. I am grateful that I had the opportunity to be a part of these activities and will definitely continue to volunteer.”
Here’s to our young volunteers who reiterated our faith in the youth of our nation. If we can help more of them imbibe empathy, we have a generation of impactful leaders.
Summer is vacation time for most youngsters, and they look forward to a break that helps them relax, rejuvenate and revel in new experiences. This year, more than ever as everyone wants to shed off the shackles of the pandemic and have some fun!
What if we told you that you can do all the above, and contribute meaningfully towards society as well? All you need to do is take out a couple of hours every day or even every week and engage in some amazing fun, with deserving people in your city. There is a plethora of volunteer programmes you can join, at NGOs across and around Chennai.
You get to learn firsthand, about the outstanding work being done by NGOs, you step out of your comfort zone and challenge yourself, meet new people from very diverse backgrounds, learn more about your city, engage meaningfully with beneficiaries of a cause, give back and touch lives like never before. All this while having fun with some new friends!
What you can volunteer for this summer:
- Be part of Summer Camp for Champs till mid-May and engage with children across our partner NGOs and schools in a host of fun activities. From magic shows to art and craft, dance to origami, health to grooming, drums circle to clown art, indoor and outdoor games to yoga.
- Join our partner NGOs in cleaning up our shoreline, clean up the beach, participate in tree walks and clean up urban forests.
- Volunteer at an animal shelter and tend to abandoned animals there.
- Be part of our ‘Reading Riders’ and help set up libraries for children in the shelters. This would involve collecting storybooks, indexing and labelling the books and encouraging children to read books by helping them.
- Teach Record audio books in Tamil for college students who are visually challenged.
- Spend time with elders in shelters and engage with them.
- Help specially abled children in an NGO by volunteering at their vocational training centre.
- Volunteer you time by doing data entry and administration work for an NGO.
- If you have a skill or hobby that you can teach others, you can do so too.
- Teach Computer Skills to students in a home.
In short, if you have the time and a skill to share, you could volunteer your time meaningfully and be assured that you will spend a summer to remember. One that will end with a fuller heart and wider smile, and you’d know that you added sunshine to many other lives as well. And that is just one of the perks of being a volunteer, a Chennai Volunteer. (To volunteer with us DM on 9840182299 or email us: contactus@chennaivolunteers)
Volunteers have always been a silent force of positive change. While the pandemic isolated millions, it also saw thousands of volunteers come together, albeit virtually, to make true impact in critical areas of migrant tracking and transport, covid tele-calling support, tele-counselling and real-time information on crucial covid resources. There was a swift pivot to online volunteering for most part of the past two years, with committed people volunteering from home. Of late, since most restrictions have been lifted, volunteers have retraced steps to the NGOs they helped, with a new set of safety protocols in place.
Visiting our NGOs partners across various causes – environment, education, elders, health, women empowerment, animal welfare, homeless and people with disability or special needs has been an eye opener. We perceive a genuine need for resources who can volunteer their skill and time to help these people come out of the lingering aftermath of the pandemic. As citizens, this is our time to emerge resilient and recharged from the shackles of the pandemic that created social distancing, lockdowns and virtual meetings, knowing that we can #vaccinateandvolunteer.
There are infinite number of reasons to volunteer. However, this is a good time to recall the top five reasons you should you be out there. So, these would be your ‘High Five’ for this season:
- You meet new people – you must be raring to go out and meet like-minded people, after working or studying from home for the past two years. If you want to make new friends or meet old ones, volunteering is a great option for you to. It’s also a great way to strengthen bonds and make new ones in your community.
2. Feel positive, mentally strong and fulfilled. There are umpteen studies that show that volunteering makes you feel happy and hopeful. Engaging with kindness gives immediate gratification and immense rewards. It creates a connection with people from beyond your daily realm and is a definite boost to your mental wellness.
3. Volunteering permits you to acquire new skills and enhance existing ones. It feels great to be out there, to learn and practise something new with deserving beneficiaries, while helping a cause close to your heart. Furthermore, enhances your ability to solve crises, exude leadership and work as a team. After our limited physical area of influence during the pandemic, this is a breathe of fresh air!
4. You can be the change. Volunteering in-person these days, allows you to observe the challenges in our community, understand it experientially, gain a new perspective and engage as a compassionate community member and agent of change. You get an opportunity to uplift people who have been marginalised farther by the pandemic, by giving time and skill. And this makes you feel accomplished, put your stresses into perspective and feel more gratitude.
5. Most importantly, you feel inspired with a sense of higher purpose. Volunteering makes you reach out and be altruistic, solve their problems and allay their concerns. But, not without having fun! Even the most serious volunteering sessions are laced with smiles and laughter. You get to be the sunshine in someone else’s cloudy day and it makes you feel refreshed and much lighter.
If you need more reasons, you need to experience this yourself and see what your top reason to volunteer is. And if you are currently volunteering, share with us your favourite reason as a comment.
Count yourself in and volunteer because #everyvolunteercounts.
2021 was a year that was marked by crisis and resilience. As volunteers, we were equally uncertain of what we would face or how we would face it, so we started with a simple promise – to make each day matter. At Team CV, we concurred to uphold 4 core values that we sensed would lead us to purposeful volunteering: Compassion, Commitment, Consciousness and Confidence.
In hindsight, these values evolved as our 4 pillars of function and yielded a year that was not only fulfilling for volunteers but equally impactful for our NGO partners and vulnerable communities we engaged with. The year saw us embrace technology and collaborate with varied stakeholders, while leveraging the strength of diverse volunteer groups. While the pandemic threw up new challenges each day, isolated millions physically but it also brought together thousands of people, who learned to volunteer-from-home, as Chennai Volunteers.
It was arduous while we were in it, but today, as I review the work we did, I am filled with gratitude. We not only faced challenges but created innovative means of overcoming them. We reached out to people beyond Chennai and even Tamil Nadu. We collaborated with various stakeholders – the government, new NGOs, skill partners and corporates to explore new initiatives.
With ample support, we were able to aid all our partner NGOs with medical relief and provisions. We upskilled them digitally and accustomed them to online engagement. The virtual classroom became a reality for many shelters and schools as we taught them online. Our tele-calling projects for Covid contact-tracing, counselling and post-covid care brought alive stories of courage and strength. The Covid Resource Guide that covered credible sources across ten verticals of immediate need among people going through Covid, was a relentless exercise in accuracy and authentic information, running real-time for 3 months. In short, what we achieved together is tangible enough to make us re-invest in it through the coming year. A quick look shows us some encouraging figures:
• We engaged with and helped over 3.8 lakh people across our state, while we clocked over 4 lakh hours of sustained volunteering.
• Covid response and relief volunteering was the dominant cause being 88% of the total volunteering rendered.
• Health awareness and remote education followed this at a far distance.
• Virtual or online volunteering was dominant at 87% as we adhered to Covid protocol most of the year.
• In-person volunteering started a few months ago with safety norms in play but we need to see how we can continue this, in the face of the third wave of Covid.
• As always, in times of crisis, volunteers came forth to give not just time but also monetary and in-kind material support.
• We ended the year with ‘Secret Santa” and “A little bit of warmth,” two community based initiatives that demonstrated the giving power of citizens.
The sum is that we did exceedingly well as a group that wanted to help our city, and I would like to thank each and each one of you for counting yourself in. I also take this opportunity to wish you and your family a Happy and Healthy 2022. We look forward to a year that will see us learn and live to the hilt, while wearing our volunteering hat. This new year will continue to witness new tenets of virtual and hybrid volunteering, peppered with safe in-person experiences.
Let’s reaffirm our belief in making positive change step-by-step and start the new year strong.
VOLUNTEER MATTERS
Recent Comments