Volunteering is like, amazing!
Wednesday,9 September 2009 by MadalenaAndrade
I am not sure how most people get ‘sucked’ into the swirl of happiness that is P&P volunteering – maybe some of them get super psyched after events like Summer Gathering or Shared Planet; and just can’t wait to get some inside role, others might just feel they want to go beyond their university roles and participate at a wider level, and some might simply do it out of pure volunteering spirit – what I am positively certain is that whatever the case, it is always the right decision!
I was invited to come along to one of the training sessions by accident, but my craving to meet more P&Pers and to enter the numinous headquarters where all the revolution is cooking made me accept the role of media & communications volunteer almost immediately. I say almost because I did feel the dread of adding too much responsibility to an already tight schedule – we are students, are we not? So much to do already: between actively instructing ourselves (because I’m sure all P&Pers take this very seriously) and safeguarding our non-stop-partying student reputations, there seems to be little time left indeed – with girls there is the added pressure of charity shop raiding.
But dread no longer! I am here to declare that you will easily survive and that you will even have a really good time. If the problem is time management as a volunteer you are only asked to commit as much as you think is feasible, and be sure that if for some unfortunate stroke of chance you’re unable to deliver, there will be no finger pointing!
The tiny distresses that are bound to come along with deadlines and rainy days are far outweighed by the sheer joy of contributing to the network. P&P volunteers are like grateful bees in the spring – often busy but happy to be part the community. At least that was my experience thus far: I met the nicest people, I felt involved and engaged. I researched subjects and learned stuff that otherwise I probably wouldn’t, I always felt encouraging feedback and, yes, it was awesome fun!
Interested? You should be. More details at: http://peopleandplanet.org/volunteer
Tags: Volunteer