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Volunteer with Children

Volunteering with Children: Personal and Professional Impact

Vida Jones

Posted: May 7, 2023

Are you looking for a way to make a difference in the world while also improving yourself? Volunteering with children might just be the answer you’ve been looking for.

Personal Development

Working with children requires you to be patient, empathetic, and a good communicator. Children may not always understand instructions or communicate in the same way that adults do. As a volunteer, you’ll need to be able to explain things clearly and concisely, as well as listen actively to what they have to say. This can help you develop important personal skills such as patience, empathy, and communication.

In addition, working with children can also help you develop self-awareness. By interacting with children and observing their behaviour, you may begin to notice patterns or similarities with your own behaviour. This can help you gain a deeper understanding of yourself and your own strengths and weaknesses.

Professional Development

Volunteering with children can also have a positive impact on your professional development. It can help you develop leadership and teamwork skills, problem-solving and decision-making skills, and even build your network and make new connections.

As a volunteer, you may be responsible for leading or coordinating activities, working with other volunteers, or liaising with parents or other stakeholders. This can help you develop important leadership and teamwork skills that can be transferable to your professional life.

Working with children can also require you to think creatively and adapt to unexpected situations. This can help you develop problem-solving and decision-making skills that are valuable in any professional setting.

In addition, volunteering with children can help you build your network and make new connections. You may meet other volunteers or professionals who work in the same field as you, which can open up new opportunities and even job offers down the line.

Impact on Children

But what about the impact on the children themselves? When you volunteer with children, you have the opportunity to provide them with access to education benefits that they might not otherwise have. This can help level the playing field for children who come from underserved backgrounds and ensure that they have the same opportunities to succeed as their peers.

By volunteering with children, you can help provide them with academic support, such as homework help or tutoring, which can improve their academic performance and increase their chances of success in school. You can also help them develop important life skills, such as time management and organisation, that can benefit them both academically and in their personal lives.

Impact on the Community

And let’s not forget the impact on the wider community. By volunteering with children, you’re helping to create a stronger and more connected community. You’re showing that you care about the well-being of the next generation, and that you’re willing to give your time and energy to make a positive difference.

Challenges

But it’s not always easy to volunteer with children. It requires patience, empathy, and a willingness to learn and grow. You may encounter difficult situations, such as challenging behaviour or complex family dynamics. But by persevering through these challenges, you can develop a deeper understanding of yourself and others.

In conclusion, volunteering with children can have a profound impact on both the children you work with and on your personal and professional development. It can help you develop important skills such as patience, empathy and communication, as well as leadership, teamwork, problem solving and decision making skills. It can also give you a sense of purpose and fulfilment, increase your overall happiness, and help you build your network.

But perhaps most importantly, volunteering with children is an opportunity to make a positive difference in the world. By providing a safe and nurturing environment for children to grow and thrive, you’re helping to create a better future for all of us. So why not take the first step today and find a volunteer opportunity that speaks to you? At GVI, we offer a range of programs that allow you to volunteer with children in beautiful countries around the world – Thailand anyone?