To Volunteer Or Not To Volunteer, That Is The Question.

I joined ACCESS as a volunteer in December 2018. At that time I had recently separated from my partner of 30 years and was going through mediation and divorce proceedings. I also saw my youngest daughter off to University in the UK where her older sister had gone some years before her. In addition, the coaching practice that I had established six years earlier was going through a stagnant period due to the lack of attention I had been giving it. I found myself at a loss as to what to do and where to start. So I did what I always did in the past in such life situations. I started volunteering.

 “The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.” — Mahatma Gandhi, Lawyer & anti colonial nationalist

 Through volunteering at ACCESS, a non-for-profit organisation that offers guidance and support to Internationals arriving in the Netherlands, I instantly found myself thrust into a community of like-minded people. Two days a week, I woke up and had a sense of purpose. This unlocked my brain’s creative channels, which had been blocked from recent negative emotional experiences. A month into my volunteering role I soon discovered that, as a coach, I can join the ACCESS Trainers network which plunged me into yet another community of entrepreneurs who were facing similar challenges to me and willing to exchange skills and support one another.

Seven weeks into my volunteering I moved to The Hague International Centre, which is part of the many expat centres in the country that ACCESS serves. I loved the face-to-face support that we as volunteers were providing there. Furthermore, working alongside the Dutch municipality staff was an added bonus as I was trying to grow and develop my Dutch language skills to a higher level.

 In July of that year, I became Project Manager at THIC. Through networking events I attended via the ACCESS community, such as Rise and Lead, a yearly event to advance women in leadership, I connected with Stephanie Ward, a business and marketing mentor, who was instrumental in supporting me and offering guidance that got my coaching business again off the ground.

 For some people volunteering may conjure negative images of unworthiness and lack of appreciation. On the contrary, I have found that volunteering has huge benefits to my mental and physical wellbeing as well as leading to new and sometimes, unexpected, career opportunities.

 “Volunteers don’t get paid, not because they’re worthless, but because they’re priceless.” – Sherry Anderson, Author

 Before completing the year at ACCESS I moved from a position of wondering what could I do, to a place of feeling involved, productive and content. I had a sense of purpose and a goal. Gratitude plays a huge role in volunteering work. I was grateful for the connections and friends that I made and the networks I became part of, not to mention the personal fulfilment that I felt at playing a part, however small, in an organisation that made a positive contribution to the lives of others.

“Remember that the happiest people are not those getting more, but those giving more.” ― H. Jackson Brown Jr., Author

 Research has revealed that volunteering has many health and social benefits. Belonging to a group and regularly interacting with people can increase your lifespan, strengthen your immune system and fight off depression. Volunteering can also sharpen your mind because you are constantly learning new ways of doing and being. I personally don’t need research to prove to me the benefits of volunteering as I have experienced it first hand on many occasions in my life.

 “You give but little when you give of your possessions.  It is when you give of yourself that you truly give.” – Kahlil Gibran, writer & Philiospher

 My job at ACCESS was not the first time I did volunteer work. My first experience with volunteering was in my early twenties in the UK when I took on a voluntary summer job as part of the work experience demanded by my Pharmacy degree. As I was an overseas student at the time I was not allowed to get a paid job. This volunteer summer job led me to secure a year’s internship that I was required to do after graduation in order to become a member of the pharmaceutical society and thereby practice as a pharmacist in Great Britain. During that internship I developed a great friendship with my mentor whose advice and guidance led me to secure my first paid job as a pharmacist at St Thomas’s hospital in London, where I worked for the next 5 years. That first volunteer job cascaded into a sequence of positive events that were very beneficial to me on a personal and professional level.

 “It’s easy to make a buck.  It’s a lot tougher to make a difference. ” – Tom Brokaw, Journalist

 The next opportunity for volunteering came my way when I was married and a first time mum in Aberdeen in Scotland. I decided to become a stay at home mum and take a career break. Unknown to me I was suffering from postnatal depression and, at the suggestion of a neighbour, I started attending a toddler group where mothers gathered with their children and created together a fun and playful time for the children and an opportunity for stay-at-home parents to bond and be part of a community. Volunteers, who were amongst the parents that attended, ran it. At some point when a volunteer was needed to continue running this group I put my name forward. I realised how helpful the group had been in combating my depression and I wanted to do my part to support other parents who might have been in a similar situation to mine. My daughter and I experienced happy times in the two years that I volunteered there and made lasting friendships.

 “We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.” — Winston Churchill, Politician

 Later on, in Oman, volunteering called again and I became a member of an information centre that was part of the Global Shell Petroleum network, which supported internationals relocating to and from Oman. Through this volunteer work, I learnt new skills and made great friendships, while making the transition of relocating to a new country easier for others.

 When back in the Netherlands, and shortly before I started with ACCESS, another opportunity to volunteer came up. This time it was in a municipal organisation that was set up to help with refugees following the war in Syria. I was one of many who gave some of their free time to supporting refugees with the settling-in process in this new country that was offering them a safe home away from their war-torn country. It was a very humbling experience.

 Should you ever be faced with the question of to volunteer or not to volunteer, I would invite you to consider saying yes.  Perhaps, like me, you might experience health and social benefits as well as developing personally and professionally.