• What it was
• Where it was
• Why you volunteered
• How you felt about it

1. I have not had many volunteering experiences in my life
2. But recently I got an opportunity to volunteer and I really liked it
3. In March 2020 when the Corona pandemic started in India our prime minister ordered a complete lockdown in the whole of India.
4. Many labour class people were jobless all of a sudden.
5. These people depend on their daily earning for their living and in one blow their source of earning was gone.
6. There is an NGO in my hometown which advertised through the local Cable TV that they needed volunteers to provide food and other things of need to these workers
7. My friend and I decided to volunteer for this noble cause
8. We called the NGO and asked them where we had to come and what we had to do?
9. They told us that either we could help with the cooking or we could help with the delivery of food packets
10. We volunteered for cooking, as my parents were a bit sceptical about us going out for delivering food packets
11. We went for a whole month and cooked food for these labourers from morning till evening
12. Of course we all took proper precautions and we were always masked.
13. It was very tiring but it gave us great happiness
14. I noticed that many people were donating things for these poor people
15. Every day I saw hundreds of packets of grocery and cooking oil there to give to the poor people who had suddenly lost their livelihood.
16. For the first time I realised that doing for others gives a lot of mental peace.
17. I also realised that we keep cribbing for our problems, which are actually very small if we compare them to what so many around us are suffering from.
18. I’ve started developing empathy for others
19. I feel very happy about it and it has changed my perspective about life a lot
20. I have learnt to value what I have and not crib for what I do not have.
21. I remember that whole week when I used to come home my mother made me go straight to the bathroom and take a bath before letting me in any other room
22. She also used to wash my clothes and mask immediately
23. In a way my family also supported me for doing this volunteer work
24. So this was the volunteering experience that I had recently

Part 3 – Follow up Questions

1. What qualities are required for being a volunteer?

As such no special qualities are needed to become a volunteer. The person should just be willing to provide his services without expecting anything back in return. It also depends upon the type of work. For example, a doctor can volunteer to provide his services free of cost, a teacher can volunteer to teach for children free of cost, people can volunteer to do work like cleaning the parks or helping the poor people.

• What type of personality does a volunteer has?

A volunteer has a friendly personality. He is easily approachable by people. He always wears a smile on his face. He has good communication skills.

• How can companies engaging in volunteering help our society?

Companies engaging in volunteering can help the society in many ways. They can help by providing funds to schools, hospitals and in many other ways. They can also do tree plantation which would go a long way in improving the environment.

• Do you think people nowadays should participate more in volunteering?

Yes I think people should volunteer more nowadays. As it is, people are leading self-centred lives. So, by volunteering they will be in touch with the community and it will give them a purpose in life.

• How do modern technologies assist volunteers and volunteering experiences?

Modern technologies assist volunteers and volunteering experiences in a big way. First of all, through these technologies young people come to know where they can go out for volunteering. Secondly, they can read about the volunteering activities done by their favourite celebrities and be motivated. Social networking sites can also help to get them recognition for their volunteer work.