Volunteering is not only a fantastically rewarding experience for all involved, but it also comes with a whole handful of benefits. We know that many of our pupils already volunteer amongst their respective sports, brownie and cub groups as well as in the local community, but for those who don’t, we thought we would share some of the key benefits to volunteering.

You Will Develop Skills

Volunteering opens you up to a world of skills that you might not develop or experience until later in life. As well as industry related skills, you can learn practical skills that can help you make a change, or softer skills that are essential to your working career. Leadership, problem solving, time management and communication are all skills that you will pick up during your volunteering experience, and skills that will shape you as a person.

You’ll Gain Work Experience

One really motivating factor to encourage students to volunteer is the vital work experience that can be achieved through it. Volunteering can give you the chance to try something new and if you are currently unsure what you want to do in the future, volunteering can open up your eyes to different career paths. This experience may be the extra snippet of information needed on your CV when applying for future jobs.

Can Give Back and Help Others

95% of students who volunteer are motivated to do so by a desire to improve things or help others. Any form of volunteering will naturally give back to others, and if the volunteering is amongst the community then this is even better as it will help people directly who may need it most. You will not only feel incredibly rewarded for giving up your time to help others, but you will be able to see the impact you’re having on somebody elses life too.

Meet New People

Volunteering is a great way of increasing your social circle, with research showing that 74% of students experiences a wider range of friendships through volunteering. As you volunteer, you will come across people from all walks of life and all different ages too so not only are you likely to make lots of new friends, you’ll naturally improve your people skills with the new people around you. This will make the next stages of your life much easier too, like moving in with new people at university or getting a new job.

There are many ways you can volunteer, both in and out of school. If you would like to know more about how you can get involved then we suggest you have a chat with your sports club, class teachers or any other clubs you attend outside of school. Start volunteering today and give back to those who need it, you won’t regret it!