Do you want to support your community through volunteerism and civic engagement but don’t know where to start?
Research from Points of Light, a global nonprofit organization dedicated to inspiring, equipping and mobilizing people to take action that changes the world, shows 73% of people believe that volunteering is more important than ever, yet 66% think they can’t make a big impact in their communities. Luckily, more people are connecting to resources that are pointing them in the right direction.
“Over the years, we have seen people increase their commitments to creating a just and equitable world through individual volunteer work and through their workplaces,” said Diane Quest, interim president and CEO, Points of Light.
To help you get in on the action, Points of Light is sharing four great ways to get involved:
1. Stay Local: While volunteering with any type of mission can help to better the world, people tend to be more impacted by volunteer opportunities from which they can observe the fruits of their labor. Collaborate with local nonprofits to affect change in the place where you live, work and play. Visit Points of Light Engage, https://engage.pointsoflight.org/, to find an opportunity today in your city or zip code and based on your interests.
2. Volunteer With Friends and Family: Families can support their communities by volunteering together. Consider working at a local food bank, participating in community clean-up initiatives, or organizing donation drives for local charities. Volunteering as a family not only provides a chance for quality time together but also encourages children to develop empathy and social responsibility. By volunteering, families can strengthen relationships, build community connections, and make a positive impact in their communities.
3. Recognize and Expand What You’re Already Doing: While many of us think about volunteering in a formal way with longer time commitments and structures, civic engagement comes in all forms. Informal actions like helping a neighbor and leveraging your purchase power all make up civic action. Ask yourself: how could I take three to five actions around one cause area that’s important to me to make greater impact? Find out how through the Points of Light Civic Circle https://www.pointsoflight.org/civic-circle/.
4. Get Inspired: To learn more about how others have volunteered and gotten involved in their communities, visit https://www.pointsoflight.org/gvm. You’ll be inspired by uplifting stories and get ideas on how you can become more civically engaged, too.
“There are many paths to living a full, civic life. Now is the perfect time to start,” says Quest.
