This Saturday, December 5th, we celebrate International Volunteer Day, a date established by the United Nations in 1985 to encourage and value volunteering around the world.
But what does it mean to be a volunteer?
According to the United Nations definition,
“a volunteer is a young person or an adult who, due to his personal interest and civic spirit, dedicates part of his time, without any economical reward, to various forms of activities, organized or not, for good-being social or other fields … “
Volunteering has been a very important part of my life from a very young age.
I entered the scout movement when I was 5 years old, and one of the most important mottos the movement taught me was to “leave the world a little better than you found it”, and that is what volunteering means to me, and that’s what I try to do.
Right now, I am a Schuman Volunteer, living in Poland, taking part in the European Solidarity Corps programme, and my volunteering project is a completely different experience for me.
This project has given me the opportunity to grow as an individual, to be more tolerant, to become more independent, to share my culture, and to be surrounded by different cultures. It forced me to leave my comfort zone, to gain new skills – work and social skills, and it is helping me to become a better version of myself.
But not all volunteering experiences have to be so radical, you can volunteer from your home town, for instance, you can: volunteer at your local school, organize fundraising events for charity, visit a senior centre, coach the local youth team or tutor a student…, and I can guarantee that even though you haven’t left your city or your country, you will feel that you made a difference, no matter how small, and that is the best feeling in the world.
❤, Carolina