Volunteer With Udayan Care: We Make Young Lives Shine!

Have you ever wondered why a flock of geese flies in a V formation? If you search for the answer, you will find it is an excellent example of a sense of community. Flying in this way conserves energy as each bird flies slightly higher than the bird in front of it which reduces the wind resistance, thus making it easier for the other birds to fly. The birds also take turns flying in the front and falling back when they get tired. It also helps to keep track of every bird and if a bird gets sick two other geese break away from the flock and stay with it, either until it dies or is strong enough to rejoin the group. This can teach us some fascinating lessons about volunteering and working together as a community.

Just like the birds share a common goal, our goal should be to uplift the underserved sections of society. One such way is to volunteer with people or organizations who are involved in various acts of social service. Imagine yourself to be that one bird helping the other one behind it to fly without any difficulties! Volunteering allows you to connect to your community and make it a better place for everyone.

Udayan Care is hugged by the faithful arms of its volunteers

The engagement of the volunteers, both long-term and short-term, has been the driving factor for our organization. They connect with our cause and purpose and add more value to the work we do. We are pleased that our volunteers are with us on this journey and together we can bring positive change to society. Our long-term volunteers include Trustees and Board members, Mentor parents in the Udayan Ghar Program, Conveners, Committee Members, and Mentors in different Chapters of the Udayan Shalini Fellowship (USF), Honourary Directors of our Skill Development Centres, and the writers and editors of our ICB journal.

Our children and youth are encouraged to volunteer as peer mentors. In fact, Shalinis from USF fulfill 50 hours of mandatory social work to encourage social awareness and responsibility. Every year children and youth across our programs participate in Daan Utsav, performing different acts of kindness. They take an active part in raising funds for various causes throughout the year. They organize food distribution and tree plantation drives, visit old age homes, and perform door-to-door awareness campaigns, among other volunteering activities.

Corporates offer their large employee base to mentor our children and youth. University students come to us and serve in projects to fulfill their course requirements. A huge community of volunteers has thus been formed and every year more individuals and corporates are added. Our volunteering program provides individuals/ corporates/ students exposure to the social sector and meet like-minded people. It challenges individuals to try something different, develop and practice new skills and discover hidden talents, enabling them to help in our cause.

We aim to strengthen individuals' sense of civic engagement, and social inclusion and to deepen their solidarity with the development sector. Our program transforms people’s voices and knowledge into collective actions, which otherwise would remain secluded. It offers the chance to give something back to society and make a difference in the lives of people. During the pandemic, we overcame the physical barrier of volunteering by helping reach out to more people and connect to individuals, professionals, homemakers, etc online.

We also offer a great opportunity for students to learn and gain hands-on exposure in the development sector through voluntary internships. Coming from diverse educational and professional backgrounds, our interns are valuable contributors to the cause of empowering young lives. The objective of our internship program is to provide students with practical opportunities to learn and experience the constituents of the non-profit sector, as well as contribute to their areas of interest. Udayan Care is essentially an organization run by volunteers. We hope that more and more people join us in our mission of making young lives shine! As Martin Luther King, Jr. says, “Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, what are you doing for others?”

If you are looking for a meaningful experience in life, why not start by volunteering with us?

Visit https://www.udayancare.org/get-involved-volunteer to learn more about the volunteering opportunities at Udayan Care.