If the company you work for sponsors volunteer events for its employees, then consider yourself very fortunate. A company that offers these types of events cares not only about the wellbeing of its employees, but of the members of its community as well. If you’ve been coming up with excuses as to why you can’t attend any company volunteer events because you don’t want to give up your Saturday afternoon, then take these benefits into consideration before you decide to sit this one out.
Help Your Community
Most employer-sponsored volunteer events take place within the community where the business is located. Whether planting trees in a park or organizing donations at a shelter, helping out a not-for-profit group in your area is, by extension, helping out all of the people who live in that area. Think of the people whom you may see walking down the street on a regular basis—many of these individuals rely on help from volunteers like you to live a happy, healthy life. If you are participating in a project that is helping the environment, then consider the work that you do a benefit to not only one person, but to all people and animals living in the community. By planting trees and cleaning up rivers, you’re making the earth a safer place for all living things.
Connect with Your Co-Workers
Not only does volunteering provide huge benefits to the general public, but it helps you form stronger bonds with the other people within your company. If you work for a medium to large size business, there are probably co-workers who you pass in the halls or see in the bathroom every day, but whom you don’t really know. In fact, you may not even know the names of many of the individuals who work for the same company as you. By participating in team-building exercises, such as volunteering events with your peers, you will gain a better understanding of who they are so that the next time you see them in the hall you can greet them by name, fostering a better sense of community within your workplace. Who knows — you may even gain a new friend in the process.
Advance Your Career
One hidden benefit to volunteering is that it will inadvertently help you develop crucial skills that could help you advance your career. Working on unique projects such as these with co-workers will help build and enhance professional and leadership skills that you may otherwise not get the opportunity to focus on. Having these crucial skills could mean the difference between whether or not you someday receive that big promotion.
Does your company host volunteer events on a regular basis? If so, you may want to think twice before skipping out on the next one. Setting aside one Saturday to participate in one of these events could make a huge difference in the morale that you experience as an employee, as a co-worker and as a member of your community.
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