Getting involved
Tips for getting involved
Community service can be a rewarding experience allowing you to give something back to the community while acquiring new skills and meeting new people.
Community service is a serious dedication of time and effort towards the chosen organization. One should expect to
• Be ready to share skills and ideas
• Learn about an organization’s priorities and needs
• Be open to learning new things
• Follow through on commitments
Meet people at events and attend volunteer orientation meetings.
There are so many events going on it would be a shame not to just find out what groups are doing by learning more about the problems and how nonprofit NGOs are tackling them. Go to volunteer orientation meetings and other events run by organizations doing work in your fields of interest.
Making contact:
Talk to people in person. Don’t send out a bunch of emails. Unfortunately, nonprofits, NGOs and local associations are usually too understaffed to deal with email enquiries effectively. Ask the people you meet about the organization’s volunteer needs.
Volunteer your time: getting started.
Self-Assessment: Ask yourself 3 things
1. What are your relevant interests, skills and experience?
2. How much time do you have and how long do you want to work with a group?
3. What are your language and communication skills like?
Find out what they need:
Try to understand organizational goals and needs. Ask yourself what you can offer and decide if this matches your own assessment.
Possible volunteer roles and responsibilities:
There are many possibilities but examples of the ways you can support community groups include: event preparation, editing newsletters, translating reports, writing conference notes, answering the telephone, doing research, making an English brochure or webpage, cleaning the office, teaching kids, fundraising, selling tickets, taking care of animals, training volunteers, making presentations to corporations, writing grant proposals, running a food drive … you get the picture – the possibilities are as varied as the organizations themselves.
Communication skills
Whether or not you need Japanese language skills depends on the organization but many - not all - require some Japanese language skills. If you have your heart set on a particular group, but do not have confidence to contact them in Japanese, ask someone to go with you on your first visit.
Busy people can help too: other types of community service support
Perhaps your schedule does not allow you enough free time to commit on a regular basis, but there are other ways to contribute such as through event participation and in-kind donations of goods or services. Be innovative!
For those with very little time, you can always become a member or make cash donations.
Make the commitment.
Select the group or project and then stick with it. Whether as an individual or group, for one event or one day a week the key is to follow through. You will not only make a difference in peoples lives but you may also learn new skills, develop an deeper understanding of issues, while meeting new people and gaining a sense of satisfaction.
