5 mins read
In 2021, volunteering skyrocketed.
While it wasn’t as tumultuous as the year prior, 2021 was marked as a period of growth and learning across industries and borders. Individuals around the world became conscious of their inner strengths to survive in the toughest times. Amidst a pandemic that refused to cease, many asked themselves – ‘What can I do to help others?’.
Skilled virtual volunteering became a gateway for individuals to do what they do best, while exercising their experiential and emotional energies towards supporting their communities. From mentoring students who were facing difficulties to cope up with the new modes of learning, building websites for organisations that did not have funds to spare for tech developers, to helping women organised in SHGs build and manage financial dashboards, volunteers worked relentlessly while handling their own personal and professional endeavours simultaneously.
Volunteerism became a priority for the younger demographic that was seeking to build and strengthen the philosophy of sustainable, positive change. While this may have been the adrenaline rush that was needed temporarily, what became increasingly essential was the need to continue channelising volunteering, and to set the future course of its evolution.
People, whether in their individual capacity, or among larger groups, are the foundational contributors towards social change. Today, the power of skill-based virtual volunteering appears to be stronger than ever, and the business case for its growth and development has never looked better. As industries across the globe anticipate a significant share of jobs to be automated in the upcoming years, the future of work seems to be evolving faster than ever. Yet, it is our very essence and legacy – the human capability to emotionally connect with others and apply context to situations and solutions, that gives us the edge over machines. These attributes are the ‘skills of tomorrow’ that will be difficult to automate, and that the employers will consistently seek in candidates. One of the best ways to cultivate these interpersonal skills among individuals is through skills based volunteering.
Skilled volunteering encourages professionals to work with numerous stakeholders, establish a level of trust with them, and build stronger networks. It helps realise empathetic individuals, which in turn, directly contributes to their emotional intelligence – a key skill needed to become an effective leader. Furthermore, skilled volunteering helps them to increase their capacity to think critically, communicate clearly, and solve complex problems.
As we near the end of year, it has become important to navigate our lives around the new way of living. The last few months have shown that nonprofit organisations as well as the beneficiaries they engage with need passionate individuals who are sensitive to growing issues. Effective pro bono engagements are a testament to what the combined effort of dedicated volunteers and social purpose intermediaries can achieve.
At Social Lens and toolbox INDIA, we recognise volunteerism to be at the core of development in the social sector. As we move into 2022 with a renewed pledge to continue our efforts of optimizing impact, we encourage and welcome individuals from different walks of life to contribute their time and skills towards meaningful volunteering opportunities, and engage in a mutually beneficial experience towards driving change.
~ Social Lens is a socially aligned consulting company. To know more about our programs and platforms at Social Lens, write to us at contact@slens.co. ~
