I, Volunteer. How Volunteering has shaped my social and professional life.

Volunteering: Verb. Meaning: “Offer one's services, present oneself, step forward, come forward, make oneself available”.

Time is a commodity that is equally available to everyone. However, what you do with it and how you use it will determine its true value. I have been able to appreciate the value of my time through the experience of volunteering, which has shaped both my social and professional life in the recent years.

When I landed in Hong Kong over three and half years ago, I was completely new to this city and my only anchor was the cohort of 60 people from my MBA program. I had no other identity beyond that of a student. Having said that, as I settled in on campus, I realised that the way for me to broaden my network was to get involved in a variety of initiatives that were being run across the university. And this is where I started my journey to volunteer for different kind of activities, with varied motivations for each.

For many, the act of volunteering usually entails social causes, however, the act of volunteering extends much beyond that. There are many initiatives, including for social, professional and charitable causes, that one can take part in by coming forward and making oneself available. Through these three different types of volunteering, I was able to build a more holistic understanding of Asia’s world city, while making friends and increasing my professional network. Below is a look at how volunteering has shaped my personal and professional life:

1. Volunteering in a social setting: 

After moving to Hong Kong, one of my first activities was to volunteer to be a part of the post graduation student association of my hostel, St. John’s college - University of Hong Kong (HKU). By joining the student council I was able to make a new set of friends outside of my MBA, most of whom came from a non-finance background. As an extension, through helping out in initiatives and events, I got to know a lot more people from varied backgrounds and cultures, which helped me assimilate quicker. From learning basic Cantonese phrases, to having discussions on sociology and oriental culture, and from joining a youth entrepreneurs' initiative and going on industry field trips to Shenzhen, I got to experience quite a bit of the local culture and entrepreneurial ecosystem in the region.

After finishing the MBA, I started to volunteer for events such as TED-X, Wanchai, which are about technology and education. I was encouraged to take this path by one of the HKU MBA Alums, Nikhil Sharma, and this advice was one of the best I have received till date. Although I was probably among the oldest in the group, helping out as a speaker concierge gave me the opportunity to meet one on one with some brilliant speakers from across the globe, including getting to meet and speak to my favourite photographer, Amy Vitale of National Geographic fame. I was also lucky to meet a big Bollywood star, on whom I had a childhood crush. Most importantly, following TED-X, I got a chance to actively take part in a few other initiatives along with the people I befriended during the event. One which became the project to build the FinTech Association of Hong Kong (FTAHK).

2. Volunteering for charitable & social causes: 

Two years ago Hong Kong was experiencing one of its most severe winters and many of the homeless were having a lot of strife. I often saw an homeless man near my house sleeping on the streets over some cardboard sheet with barely anything warm to cover him. While I was exploring what I can do to help, I came across an article in a local news blog about a volunteering group known as The Guest Room, lead by Jeff Rotmeyer, who used to come together on a regular basis to help out the homeless. This lead to me joining them for one of their “kindness walks” in Sham Shui Po, one of Hong Kong’s poorer neighbourhoods, which had a large number of homeless.

Not only was this an eye-opener to see the suffering on the streets in one of the world’s richest cities, but it was also heartening to see that many people had come out in the cold winter to help those in need. The Guest Room has now evolved into Impact HK, a registered charity, and grown from having one walk a month to over 30 walks a month, with hundreds of volunteers offering their kindness. Impact HK is more about giving time for the people than just about the monetary contribution. People come to help, and offer a human touch to the process. And now some of these very people I met during the early runs are among my closest friends and it helps to know that your friends have similar values as you.

In a similar way, I have met some amazing people from different walks of life, including environment activists, to bankers & lawyers, while taking part in various activities of Soap Cycling. Soap Cycling as set up 5 years ago and they recycle tonnes of soap every year and distribute them to the underprivileged in many parts of China, while raising awareness about hygiene. This included a cycling trip in rural China (here is the blog on it) which was a great experience in understanding the country better, and provided me with an opportunity to offer my photography services for some of the initiatives.

3. Volunteering for professional interests: 

When I returned from London after completing the last part of my MBA at London Business School, I started my job hunting in Hong Kong. As I pursued roles in financial services, I was quite keen to understand more about Fintech, which was having a big impact in the UK, but was still in its early stages of development in Hong Kong. Although I am actively involved in Fintech, at the time I hardly knew anyone and through volunteering I got the opportunity to take part in many activities. To this effect, three people played a vital role in my assimilation into the Fintech ecosystem.

The first was Anthony Sar, for whom I had volunteered at the first edition of Finnovasia in October 2015. I was assigned to tweet from the Finnovasia’s account on key statements and points raised during the various keynotes and panels and this suited me quite well. Not only was it a fantastic opportunity for me to listen to the speakers and understand more about the topic, it also helped me to meet the main people shaping Fintech in Hong Kong, many of whom I work with closely today at the Fintech Association.

The second person is Henri Arslanian. I was introduced to Henri through a student in HKU, who used to take his class. Initially, I got in touch with Henri during my job hunt and subsequently bumped into him as part of the audience at various Fintech events, where he was a speaker. After a few interactions and discussions on the topic, Henri introduced me to a group of fintech aficionados representing different parts of the ecosystem. Since then, we have been on many initiatives together, including working quite closely in building the FTAHK along with the other founding members and co-chairs.

The third person is Matt Dooley. In one of our chat groups on Fintech, Matt had asked if anyone wanted to take the lead for an event under his TGIFintech meet up series. I put my hand up to organise an event on Artificial Intelligence in Investment Management, which was my first time moderating a panel on Fintech in Hong Kong. Among the panelists was Charles D’ Haussey, who now heads Invest HK’s Fintech team, and a person whom I have regular discussions on initiatives to drive Hong Kong's Fintech agenda forward.

Following the TGIFintech event, I started getting further involved in the initiatives and conversations on Fintech in Hong Kong. This included assistance in organising the community run Fintech day during the first ever Hong Kong Fintech Week in 2016, for which I was asked to be a speaker concierge and help with the Q&A during the talks. The main group of people who organised the community day eventually formed the core team responsible for building the FinTech Association of Hong Kong.

The FTAHK board and co-chairs are a classic example of people giving their time and efforts for an initiative and topic they are passionate about. Working with CEOs, senior partners & heads of divisions, entrepreneurs and community catalysts to build the Association from ground up, it has reiterated to me that no matter how high you reach in your professional careers, volunteering can be an effective way of utilising your precious time to bring value to the industry and your own self.

In addition, the network one builds through volunteering creates new opportunities through meeting experts in the fields one is interested in as well as building our world view on those topics. It can even lead one to an exciting job, as it has done for me as General Manager of the FinTech Association of Hong Kong. This came about as the result of the above mentioned volunteering tasks in Fintech, one lead to the other.

For many young entrepreneurs keen on starting their business and professionals looking to build their standing, volunteering offers a way to not only involve yourself in something you believe in, but it also provides an opportunity to chase your passion and connect with the right point of contacts in your chosen path. Hence, if you are looking to do something of value, my advice is for you to use your precious time and invest it through volunteering for initiatives you identify with and are passionate about. One thing leads to another and sets the stage for you to build on.

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Thank you for reading my views: Here is a link to my profile and some of the other blogs I have written recently

LinkedIn Profile: Syed Musheer Ahmed: https://www.dhirubhai.net/in/syedmusheer/

Selected Blog Posts:

• Soap Cycling: What a journey in rural China taught me: https://www.dhirubhai.net/pulse/soap-cycling-what-trip-rural-china-taught-me
• Collaboration: The way forward for Hong Kong and Singapore as FinTech hubs: https://www.dhirubhai.net/pulse/collaboration-way-forward-hong-kong-singapore-fintech
• DLT vs Blockchain vs Bitcoin Vs ICOs: https://www.dhirubhai.net/pulse/dlt-vs-blockchain-bitcoin-icos
• The Art of Patience: What photography and cooking have taught me: https://www.dhirubhai.net/pulse/art-patience-what-photography-cooking-have-taught-me
• The World of Crypto-currencies: A reality check on why they are years away from replacing Fiat currencies: https://www.dhirubhai.net/pulse/world-crypto-currencies-reality-check-why-years-away-from-reality
• Lessons from an unexpected World Cup winning team on team spirit and enjoying your work: https://www.dhirubhai.net/pulse/lessons-from-unexpected-world-cup-winning-team-spirit-ahmed/
• Vacay in the City: Hong Kong Diaries: https://www.dhirubhai.net/pulse/vacay-city-hong-kong-diaries

Photography Page: https://www.facebook.com/theyeofthepandahk/