North York Central Library Blog

Have you ever wanted to volunteer for a cause you believe in, but your other time commitments, such as school, work, family, etc. got in the way?

I'm sure we have all felt this way in our busy adult lives. I started my volunteer work after finishing my studies. With no more schoolwork to keep me busy all the time, I finally decided to devote my extra time, or days off work to various causes. Some of those have been for my own pleasure or interest, such as volunteering at an art gallery, and some efforts have been more about giving back to the community and helping with a cause I really believe in, like working in a women's centre.

For me, there have been vastly different advantages for working in both types of settings. The art related job allowed me to be surrounded by a subject that I love and keep my interest and passion for art alive and ongoing. This type of volunteer job is what I would consider the "fun" and entertaining type. The personal rewards are: education, creative stimulation, etc.

The other type of volunteer work I have done, I would consider to be the more "humanist" approach, that deals with spending your free time helping a cause that you feel passionate about, and consider important for all of society to pay attention to, and work towards improving. Helping disadvantaged and abused women (violence against women) really taught me that we should never take our lives for granted. There are those of us going through serious challenges, and are in need of much support from others as they can get. This support can come from family, friends or strangers, hence, the volunteers.

My next type of volunteer venture leans more towards the second type I have described, but is quite unique to me. I will be working with children in a school setting in the near future by mentoring them on their lunch hour. Working with children raises a whole new set of challenges. These are individuals whose lives are still being shaped, and may have already gone through their own difficulties. They require a helping hand, or simply a friend, to sit down with them and listen and share. Every child should have a fair and equal chance at life, and although this is not the case in our world, at least having someone to talk with about their lives (if they choose), can make them feel that somebody cares.

There are also many volunteer opportunities at your local library branch. These include helping with adult literacy, homework help for teens, helping newcomers with homework, helping children with their reading and learning skills, and so on.

For further information about volunteering and the various types available, please see the following materials from the Toronto Public Library: