The time for charity work is now, even if it’s for selfish reasons

In the popular 90s sitcom Friends, Joey Tribbiani argues that there is no such thing as a selfless good deed. “It made you feel good, so that makes it selfish”. Joey was one to often miss the point, but not this time. In fact, there are many articles stating the reasons why volunteering, charity work or doing good for others benefits you personally. These include warding off depression, meeting new people and keeping you fit.

2020 has been an exceptionally tough year and no one knows what 2021 holds in store for us all. Businesses closed, people lost their jobs and unfortunately the most vulnerable are the ones that are the most affected. Many of the people that have not been so detrimentally affected are concerned about the future and are holding on to every penny they can as a safety net. Others simply don’t have the financial resources to donate right now.

How to help without spending money

Everyone feels a lot more charitable over the end of year holidays and nearly one third of annual giving occurs in December. This year will be different, and these charities are simply not getting the contributions they need. So what can you do to help?

Non-profit organizations like animal shelters need to close over the holiday period and need to let their staff take leave. It’s very difficult to keep the doors open so they look for foster parents to take care of some of these animals for a few weeks until they reopen. So, every year my wife and I foster as many dogs as we can. Not only do we foster these dogs, but we also actively try and find them their forever homes.

There are other ways to help. A lot of these organizations can benefit by using skills that you possess. If you are an accountant, you can help do their books. Handy with a hammer? Do some maintenance and repairs that they don’t need to pay to have done. 

Help someone else…for you.

If you are reading this on your LinkedIn feed, then you are using the site for a reason. Whether it be to network, promote yourself or find new work and other opportunities. Selfish right? Well, if you are going to be selfish then do it right!

Add your volunteer work to your profile! Experts say that it’s “signal to a recruiter that you're able to juggle additional responsibilities, and show you've spent time honing soft skills like project management and teamwork.” Furthermore, 1 in 5 hiring managers in the U.S. say they hired a person because of their volunteer work and 41% of LinkedIn members say that they view volunteer work equally as valuable as paid work.  

Pick something you are passionate about

If you have decided to self-promote or managed to guilt yourself into doing work for the less fortunate you might at least make it something you are passionate about. Ideally you would like to continue supporting those causes on a more regular basis. There are so many options from reading to the elderly, getting involved with underprivileged children, cleaning beaches or parks and many more.

The commercial break

I would be remiss if I didn’t use this opportunity to find a forever home for our foster this year and create some visibility for the shelter Maltese, French Poodle & Yorkie Rescue South Africa. Go and like and follow their page on Facebook to see what pets need good homes.

This year we are taking care of Bokkie. For more on her click here . 

Image Credits: https://cinemaprobe.com/11-times-joey-proved-wisest-friends/, Photo by Anna Earl and ray sangga kusuma on Unsplash, Maltese, French Poodle & Yorkie Rescue South Africa