In high school I heard so many clichés about volunteering: "It will help you get into college." "It will help you get a job." "It will change your life." And so I volunteered, maybe not for the right reasons at first, actually I know that it wasn't for the right reasons, it was because I was in a class that required me to complete ten hours of community service for a grade; but despite the reasoning, I found out that I really did like volunteering. I also came to find out that all of those clichés were not just something people say to get others to volunteer, they were true.
My first volunteering I did at HandsOn Santa Clarita was on the committee for the Dancing With the Stars event. This required meeting almost every week to help plan the fundraisers for this event. I quickly started picking up skills from this committee, note taking, planning, and just general professional skills. Soon after I joined the committee for the 5k/10k event. It was so much fun to be able to help plan these events and watch them come together.
I got a huge feeling of "Woohoo we did it!" when a project came together, and an even better feeling after because I knew that the event that I just helped with would help other people. Not only was I doing something good for my community, I was enjoying myself too. Somehow within helping these on these committees, I all the sudden felt more connected to Santa Clarita, the valley that I have spent my entire life living in; but all the clichés still didn't seem true - they still just seemed like clichés.
I joined these committees both the summer before my senior year of high school. As I started school, these eight hours became a time where the stress of school was off me and I could focus on helping others. This was also the time when it came to apply to colleges, and I included that I volunteered these eight hours every month in my applications. I applied to six schools, and I got into all six, and I know that my volunteer hours helped me get into those schools.
While my senior year was coming to an end, I wanted a job during the summer, so I started to apply to places all over Santa Clarita. When I made my resume to do so, I had asked the Executive Director here at HandsOn Santa Clarita if I could use her as a reference. Well, two weeks into my job hunt, I get a call offering me a job, not from anywhere I had applied to, but from HandsOn. My volunteer work had impressed the Executive Director enough that when a job spot opened up, she offered it to me.
So yeah, volunteering is surrounded by clichés, but they are true. I started volunteering a year ago, and now I am leaving for university in two months, I have a job, and I would definitely say that my life has drastically changed for the better because of it.
If you are thinking about volunteering, but are unsure, just do it. Sign up for an opportunity on this site. It can be anything - helping at the food pantry, cheering on runners, completing a community project, or even guest blogging on this site. One time volunteering, that is all it takes to make a difference.
