If you were hoping for a youtube video of adorable puppies upon reading the title of this post, sorry to dissapoint you. But I have something wayyyy better! You may not think it is at first but try it out. It's a little something called volunteering...
I have a friend who is the perfect role model for volunteering. She volunteered once a week at a nursing home, making friends with those who lived there and doing things for them that they could no longer do for themselves. For example, she showed up at a meeting we had together with these bright, multi-colored fingernails and proceeded to tell me how much fun she had painting nails all afternoon with her ladies at the nursing home. She genuinely had a great time with them and was really really sad when she had to leave them after graduation.
Some people may volunteer to be one step ahead on their resume, which isn't all bad because volunteering can teach a person many many skills that will help them in his/her future career. My friend probably isn't even concerned with this little fact because you could tell by the big, humongous, genuine smile on her face after she's visited the nursing home that she truly loved spending time there, helping others.
Whatever your reason for volunteering, or even if you don't volunteer anywhere right now, trust me when I say this: It really does make you feel good about the blessings in your life. I will admit that I myself find it hard to find time to volunteer but with technology today it is almost impossible to have an excuse not to help your fellow friend. There's so many ways to volunteer these days and people need volunteers for everything. We all have some pretty sweet skills unique to our own personality and the handy-dandy websites below can help you match up your interests with the right organization.
Even if you only have time to volunteer once a month or you love planning special events and you're not necessarily free all year round, these websites will find a place for you. Or I also know multiple friends on summer internships right now(You know who you are people) so maybe it would be just a one day thing. With the words "budget cuts" being spoken more often than I blink my own eyes these days, more organizations are reaching out to people to utilize their services in computer technology, retail services, design, marketing, etc. You type in your skill and the website will hook you up. So try it out and just see what happens. Can't hurt right? I just moved to a different town and I may be using this post as self-motivation to find some new opportunities so I'm right at the start with ya!
http://www.volunteermatch.org/
http://www.volunteeriowa.org/
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