Volunteering is easier than you think. If we want to make a difference, we do not need to wait for college organizations or the places we work to provide us the means to do so. While it is great to do so, the opportunities to make a difference are right at our fingertips. Contrary to what we may think, it is easier than ever given the tools and resources available to us to get started immediately. In this post, I will illustrate this through my own personal experience.
I live in Los Angeles in the state of California. I have seen with my own eyes a lot of the challenges that face the people who live in my city. The question I posed to myself was, how quickly could I start making a difference? So how easy was doing so?
How Easy was Volunteering?
I was able to find out how to volunteer in mere seconds. In fact, a simple google search about how to volunteer in Los Angeles immediately brought up great results. The search brought up several organizations at the top of the list who I found were reputable, had long histories, and whom many have used in the past. Some of the organizations were:
I signed up for my volunteer event through Volunteer LA. The event was for “Food Truck” hosted by the Dream Center. My event lasted from 9:30 AM to 1:30 PM on November 23, 2019. The purpose of the event was to distribute unprepared grocery products to low-income families. The organizations that these volunteer sites list are also reputable and well known. It is also always wise to make sure you do your own research and double-check these organizations. For example, I had not known about the Dream Center in Los Angeles before I found them through Volunteer LA.
The Dream Center, as I learned, is an organization with a long history in Los Angeles. Their mission statement is as follows:
Our mission is to connect broken people to a community of support by providing free resources and services that address immediate and long-term needs in the areas of homelessness, hunger, poverty, addiction, abuse, education and human trafficking.
-The Dream Center
It only took me seconds to volunteer with a great organization in Los Angeles. Volunteer LA asked for my name and email. I submitted it and in mere seconds I received a confirmation email that I was set to go.
My Volunteer Experience
My day began when I arrived at the Dream Center early Saturday morning. First, I met at the gathering point for volunteers. When our host asked the crowd to raise their hands if it was their first time volunteering with the Dream Center, I was surprised by how many people did so. I and dozens of people including raised our hands. It felt weird taking the first step in a new journey and being in a new place. But I realized then that there were many people who were also just like me. It was the same for all of us.
Moreover, I met a number of great people. I met volunteers and people who were part of the Dream Center. I also realized is that people were grateful and happy just for you to show up in the first place. People were very welcoming, kind, and happy to see new faces. I’m sure if you decide to volunteer in your local communities, you would find the same reaction.
I felt inspired. It was amazing to see people of all different backgrounds coming together to do something great. I enjoyed seeing the energy, the bright smiles, and the passion in trying to make a real difference for the community we traveled to. My team and I worked energetically to set up pallets, unbox food and set up a distribution line. A large distribution truck supplied us. No one looked tired despite the labor and the unexpectedly warm day. Our focus was to serve the community we were at. I passed out food to families and they all appreciated our help. Some of these families and people had brightness, optimism and hope that you couldn’t help but feel inspired about.
We can Take Action Now
In conclusion, there are many opportunities to volunteer that are a simple google search away. Whether you live in Los Angeles, another major city or a small community. We do not need to wait on our places of work or the organizations we may be apart of to go out and make a difference. We can start making a difference now. Not next month or next year. We can start doing it now.
For example, see my previous blog post about one takeaway from the book Atomic Habits by James Clear. It’s up to us to take that first step. We can take that step ourselves without anyone telling us how. Moreover, it is about asking ourselves the questions and using our own creativity and ingenuity to solve it. It is easy to do with all the tools available to us in the modern-day. Each and every day we have the opportunity to exercise our agency to do something of worth and meaning. If you want to volunteer, it is easier than you think.