Volunteerism starts with a spark, which ignites the light to make everyone shine bright. That spark may come from an existing organization or community project where you can devote at least a portion of your time, off of your daily grind, to become a blessing to some.
Volunteerism Need Not Be Scary
Organizations that are committed to providing social services need volunteers, a lot of them, to keep them running. Without volunteers, it is easy for any non-profit, non-government organization to crumble. It’s like their brace of support. But it is not easy to gather people and encourage them to become volunteers even if they want to because of the supposed commitment expected from them. What people need to understand is that volunteerism is not binding. Some volunteer opportunities allow flexibility so you can take on some tasks, some duties with social relevance all while you are still very much into your own, busy world.
Various Organizations are Looking for Ad Hoc Volunteers
Adhocracy, also sometimes referred to as micro volunteering, is a current trend in social service. It is about short-time volunteer opportunities offered by various organizations, especially in Singapore. It gets more people involved to change lives, one moment at a time, even when their schedules are tight.
According to a recently published Today Online article, there has been an increase in the number of people stepping forward to make a change, especially during the past year since the COVID-19 pandemic hit. The growing interest is associated with the rising need for social services and the fact that ad hoc or micro volunteering opportunities became accessible because a good part of them can be done virtually.
Ad hoc volunteering is seen as meaningful because it allowed even the working class to take part in various causes and be of service to the community; letting you in without locking you in. Some organizations are happy enough to have volunteers for even just an hour or two. They can sign you up based on your availability, commitment level, skills, and interests. Here are a couple of organizations that offer ad hoc volunteering opportunities:
- It’s Raining Raincoats needs English tutors for migrant students and workers, for at least 45 minutes to 1 hour each session, as part of their MAD Wish program.
- Samaritans of Singapore is constantly looking for people who can dedicate 3-4 hours each week and an overnight per month to become a Samaritan, attending to those who are in distress, through text messaging or their 24-hour hotline.
- The National Library Board is looking for kidsREAD volunteers who can provide an hour a week to sit down on a reading session for underprivileged kids.
Those are just three but there are hundreds of other organizations in Singapore and elsewhere in the world willing to take you for an hour or more. Keep tabs with The One Hour Project to find more resources, more details on many other organizations that offer short-time volunteer opportunities, which could be right for you.
“I wish I could but I couldn’t find the time”
People think that volunteerism is a lot of work. Well, it is! The number of tasks becomes lighter, however, when they are divided among volunteers. That’s why YOU are needed. Even if you can only lend an hour each time, it would mean a lot to take off the heavy load from others so they can do more meaningful work.
Look around you and you will see countless organizations waiting to let you in. Find them, coordinate with them, and see what you can do to help them, even in your little ways.
Remember, it is better to start small than never to have started at all.
