Volunteering can give you an opportunity to recenter and reconnect with your own happiness while at the same making the world a better place. Do you want to help others by giving back? You may be asking yourself, “Where do I start?” Here are some tips to get you started on finding a volunteer opportunity.
Research the issue or cause that is most important to you and find a group that works with those issues.- Look at the skills you could offer and use them to find the opportunity that suits you. If you enjoy being around children or want to mentor them, then look for organizations that also do that.
- Learn a new skill. If you are looking to learn something new, look for a nonprofit organization that is seeking volunteers, realizing at the same time that training may be part of your commitment.
- Make sure that your volunteer work fits your schedule. Devote the time you can to whatever organization you are volunteering for, but don’t promise time you can’t give! Make sure your other commitments don’t suffer and that you still have time for yourself.
- Questions may come up. Organizations have to be careful who they accept as volunteers, so don’t be surprised if you are asked to fill out an application or come in for an interview. If you have children, look for ways that you as a family can volunteer or ways that fathers and sons as well as mothers and daughters can volunteer together.
- Become a virtual volunteer. Some organizations are now seeking volunteers via the Internet. You might be able to help a person with a disability type a paper for a college class or email someone who is homebound.
These are just a few tips on how you can start looking for opportunities to volunteer. (Check out more here.) Most importantly, you just have to get out there!
Happiness is an inside job®.
Lisa Cypers Kamen is a filmmaker, positive psychology coach, author, host of Harvesting Happiness Talk Radio, professor and lecturer specializing in the field of sustainable happiness. She is widely recognized as an expert on the subject. Lisa’s acclaimed documentary film co-produced with her now fifteen year-old daughter, Kayla, “H-Factor…Where is your heart?” explores how people in varied circumstances find, generate and share happiness. In addition to her film on happiness, Lisa has also published a number of articles and books entitled, Got Happiness Now?, Are We Happy Yet?, Leadership: Helping Others to Succeed and Reintegration Strategies, about combat trauma and using positive psychology principles to create wellness in a post-war new normal. Lisa’s written work is featured on blogs for the Huffington Post, PositivelyPositive.com and InspireMeToday.com and she is a TEDx community event speaker. In addition, she is the Happiness Expert for the Florida Department of Citrus/ Florida Orange Juice in its Take on the Day campaign.
Harvesting Happiness for Heroes™ is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation that delivers stigma-free integrated combat trauma recovery services to warriors and their loved ones. Modalities include scientifically proven strengths based Positive Psychology coaching and interdisciplinary tools such as film, yoga, meditation, art and creative writing designed to mindfully empower the client to achieve increased self-mastery, self-esteem and reclaim her/his life. HH4Heroes focuses on the balance of mind, body and emotion resulting in greater overall wellbeing and the transformation of Post-Traumatic Stress (PTS) into Post-Traumatic Growth (PTG). HH4Heroes offers retreat workshops, one-on-one coaching, Battle Buddy programs, as well as our new R.E.B.O.O.T Online virtual community coaching classrooms designed to reach underserved areas. In addition, HH4Heroes deploys Return to Duty™ civilian and corporate training to help welcome a warrior home and into the community and workplace.
Lisa is committed to teaching Happiness is an inside job™ and helping others end their needless suffering through intentionally cultivating greater joy.
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