10 best ways of volunteering

Ever wondered how you can give back your time to the community and have an opportunity to serve? Reatlegile Lekalakala from Greenpeace Africa shares her 10 best ways of volunteering in your community.

1. Being a volunteer at Greenpeace means supporting and helping the organisation in communicating environmental issues to the public and all affected parties. You can also be an activist and help us plant trees or join us for a river cleanup.

2. Collecting food and clothes at your workplace/school for orphanages. Just a little gesture can mean the world to someone out there – you would be surprised how many people have things they do not need and are willing to give away.

3. Helping at an animal shelters. Many of these animal shelters, like the SPCA, need as much help as they can to continue the great work of keeping animals out of danger. So if animals are very close to your heart then help walk the dogs, clean up their living space or just donate food to the shelters.

4. Community/river cleanups. A clean environment is most important not only for our health, but also for the environment too. What people do not realise is that one piece of plastic that you threw on the floor the other day ends up in water bodies and gets mistaken for food by the animals.

5. Help clean up the nearest nature conservation park. Every time we visit nature parks they look amazing and well looked after. What we do not see is the hard work that goes into keeping them that way.

6. Being a mentor at your previous school. Some pupils need guidance more than others, and after getting all the experience of varsity, helping someone cope and tutor them where you can is one good thing you can do to help.

7.Visit an elderly home. Not all of us are as fortunate to have our families around us all the time, so helping out at a home and putting a smile on that one person’s face might mean a lot more that you think. This could mean donating a yoga class or just organising for a movie night.

8.Volunteering at a school. It could be coaching one of their sports and helping in cooking class, or starting an extra class for pupils who are struggling in your area of expertise. This is one way of contributing to great future leaders and creating a great foundation for good decision makers.

9. Starting a homework or reading centre for children around your area is one way of keeping children off the streets and contributing to their intellectual growth.

10. Donating money for a good cause. Most people’s lives do not allow them to take time off and physically help out. Donate your money to an organization or a home to help them carry out their day to day activities.