3 Reasons Why You Should Volunteer

Here at Rise, we know the importance of volunteering. Being a volunteer has immeasurable impact on both your personal and professional development, but it also gives you space to meet people from your community and make a positive impact. We have picked out the top three reasons why YOU should volunteer and we’ve given you all the resources you need going forward.

Hundreds of people in and around Manchester currently or have volunteered in some way, myself included, so I’ve included some reflections on my own experience which I hope will inspire you…

1. Personal Development

In my opinion, I’d say the impact of personal development is the most powerful when it comes to volunteering. It’s a chance for you to meet new people within your community and enhance your social skills. I did my volunteering in a charity shop over the summer and I met hundreds of new people within my community and got to know them on a personal level. As I have never worked in retail, this experience gave me more confidence in talking to strangers. It also gave me a feeling of pride and importance when I look back on my time as it was amazing to see that, because I was on the shop front all day, the staff at the charity shop had more time to organise the donated clothes and cook up new ways to improve their business. I would also like to say, volunteering in a charity shop may sound quite dull to a lot of people but making new friends made it so much more enjoyable!

All of this might sound like a difficult thing to get started on, but don’t worry! Rise has commissioned a Self Study Pack on Volunteering and Service learning, that will take you through ways get started with volunteering, and which unlocks opportunities across Greater Manchester.

2. Professional Development

Having volunteering experience greatly improves your CV and is another addition to your examples of the skills you have.

By completing the Volunteering and Service Learning Passport self study pack, you’ll earn a Bronze Civics Badge which evidences your proficiency and knowledge on the theme. You’ll also gain 50 Rise Points, 10 more than any of our other self study packs!

Gaining this badge also unlocks a volunteering and service learning search engine that will make it easy for you to find opportunities that align to your ambitions. Whether you’re in Manchester or a different address for the summer, you’ll find something meaningful and exciting to do.

Just from volunteering for a week you’ll improve your professional skills, time and organisation skills, and many more skills you need in a workplace. Volunteering also allows you to gain contacts you may not get anywhere else. By talking to staff, community members and volunteering for a business you have so many people within your reach who can help you with upcoming projects or even potential jobs. My recommendation would be to add all the staff on LinkedIn so you can expand your professional connections and relationships.

3. Rise Points

In addition to the self-study, you can claim Rise points for any volunteering you take part in. Your experience will appear on your Rise transcript which you can share on LinkedIn and add to your CV.

Applicants with volunteering experience are more likely to stand out. When preparing for interviews, it can be easy to forget all the experience you’ve done, so having it on your transcript means it will never fall out of your head!

In addition to this, the Rise points you gain from volunteering also count towards the 300 points mark to complete the Rise assessment and gain extra credit.

Next steps:

• Read and complete our ‘Volunteering and Self Service Passport‘ self study kit
• Browse all the volunteering opportunities we have on the Rise website
• Follow us on Instagram and LinkedIn to get notified about all the new volunteering opportunities on offer