National Volunteer Week is an annual, week-long celebration full of community activities, generosity of spirit and of course, volunteering. There are many different benefits of volunteering, both for employers and employees, which is one of the reasons we love this week so much!
At Schueler Group Benefits Corp, we love to get out into our community and volunteer. One of the things we’ve heard many times over the years is something along the lines of, “I would love to go out and volunteer, but I don’t know where to go or what to do”. Here are some easy ways to get your employees volunteering and helping out in your community:
#1. Search Online for Volunteering Opportunities
Online searches are a great way to find volunteer opportunities in your community! Try combining the name of your town or city with a keyword like “volunteering” or “volunteer opportunities.” You can even look at opportunities that match your interests (more on that below), such as “volunteering with the elderly” or “volunteer teaching opportunities.”
#2. Organize an Employee Blood Donation
Donating blood with the Canadian Blood Services is a quick and easy (although not entirely painless) way to help out! Not everyone is eligible to donate blood, but you can take a two-minute online quiz to find out if you’re able to give blood.
#3. Start a Workplace Committee
We’ve found employees are much more likely to go with others rather than on their own and having a group of people doing a pre-determined activity is much easier to organize.
#4. Offer Paid Volunteer Hours
Speaking of paid volunteer hours… many employees want to volunteer but may not feel like they have the time. Employers who offer their workers some paid time off in which to help out their community get surprising benefits that outweigh the costs of paying someone not to be at work.
#5. Organize a Community Cleanup
You’ve probably seen the recent #trashtag trending online, where you take a picture of the messy area before and after clean up and share it online using the hashtag #trashtag. It’s a fantastic social movement that benefits local communities and the world at large, and since it’s trending right now, employees will be all over it!
#6. Consider People’s Passions
What do you or your employees enjoy doing when they’re not at work? You’ll have a more enjoyable time and really be able to get into things if it’s something you’re really passionate about. Reading? Volunteer at the library. Teaching? Become a tutor! Spending time with family and friends? Volunteer together!
National Volunteer Week is April 7th – 13th this year, and although we’re bringing it to the forefront this week, we believe it’s important to encourage volunteering all the time! By keeping the above facts in mind year round, you can bring more volunteering, engagement, and happiness to your workplace.
National Volunteer Week: 6 Ways Employers Can Get Involved in Their Community, Retrieved from BBD Blog April 9, 2019. www.bbd.ca/blog/volunteer-week-ideas/