Five Ways to Volunteer this Summer

Altruism aside, being a volunteer can be beneficial to all parties involved. Help your community this summer and reap the benefits of knowing you’ve contributed to making the world a better place.

Beach Cleanups 

Human beings leave messes on the beach like no other creatures. Single-use plastics are the primary culprits and leave our shores covered in trash. 

Even if we don’t mean to, sometimes the garbage we dispose of will blow all over the beach. 

If you want to enjoy the beach, spend some time picking up the trash. You can do it yourself, organise group beach cleaning events, go plogging, or find other ways to motivate people to clean up. 

You can offer handmade items, snacks, or beverages in exchange for people bringing you picked up trash. There are businesses all over the world that do this.  

Walking Shelter Dogs

There is scientific evidence that proves that being around dogs produces serotonin in humans. So volunteering at a dog shelter can be as beneficial to humans as it is to dogs.

Walking the dogs and spending time with them helps them destress from the crazy shelter environment. Plus, it gets them used to people, which makes them more adoptable.

Reach out to your local shelter and see if they need help. You might even fall in love and end up fostering or adopting a dog, although just volunteering makes a huge difference to all involved.

Helping Feed the Homeless

Summers can be just as challenging for the homeless as winters. Heatstroke, sunburns, and dehydration are all dangers that face all of us during warmer months.

Churches, businesses, and NGOs organise soup kitchens to help feed homeless people. They usually accept volunteers to help prepare the food, serve it, and help clean up afterward. 

These organisations will sometimes let volunteers bring in canned food and other valuable items for the homeless. This is an excellent opportunity to help those in need.

Donate Used Items

Donating used items is one of the best examples of a win-win. We all have things we no longer need that take up precious space in our homes.

Find an organisation to take specific items like books, canned foods, used clothes, and make sure they go to people who genuinely need them.

You can also consider taking everything to a second-hand store like Salvation Army or Savers that resell the items for a lower price to struggling families and donate the proceeds.

Volunteer at a Children’s Hospital

Unfortunately, not all children can enjoy their summers outside. There are children with chronic diseases, cancer, or other serious illnesses that keep them in the hospital long-term.

There are many ways to help these kids feel better. Writing cards, sending toys, coming to visit, and other ways to help. Reach out to your local hospital and see how you can get involved.

If there aren’t any kids in need in your area, consider doing the same for a retirement home. There might even be more ways to interact and befriend the elderly residents who are otherwise lonely.

Summer is a great time to have fun and relax, but it is also full of volunteer opportunities. 

Although volunteering helps others, it can also be gratifying to the volunteers. 

Although altruism is impressive, it isn’t wrong to find a way to volunteer that makes you feel great while benefiting your community.

Photos: Shutterstock

How about this opportunity to volunteer in Malta?

Volunteering At Malta Biodiversity Monitoring Network

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