Donating My Time

Volunteer

1.a person who voluntarily offers himself or herself for a service or undertaking.

2.a person who performs a service willingly and without pay.

Dictionary.com

Some of the best advice I got in college from one of my mentors was to get out there and volunteer. My mentor told me that when you are young and just getting out of college or in college you aren’t going to be making a lot of money. Since you won’t be making a lot of money it was going to be hard to donate money, even if it is for a good cause. So he suggested that I donate my time instead.

Now it took a very long time for this to stick into my head. I didn’t really start volunteering a lot till a few years after I got out of college. I happen to be surfing the internet while at work, like every millennial does and I came across the “Texas State Park Ambassadors” website. I didn’t think too much of it but I put in the application to join the program and the rest is history.

Finding a place to volunteer can seem hard because you want to make sure you are doing the right thing and make sure whatever you are doing is going to make you feel good. That’s why I suggest start volunteering to do things that you love to do. If you love the state parks, volunteer at the parks. If you love dogs and cats, volunteer at a shelter. Just start making a list of things that you like to do and volunteer opportunities will follow right alongside with them.

Volunteering truly does make you feel good. Especially when giving back to something that means so much to you, like the state parks system for me. You can also think of volunteering as a way for you to network to help you get that dream job or just meet new people. I have made so many lifelong friends from just simply volunteering.

Help spread the word of those organizations that you are involved in by leaving a comment below.

For more information about the Texas State Park Ambassador Program you can click here.

“Cheers”