For this paper I took a look at possible volunteer opportunities in my local community. I gave examples of what opportunities were available and how to find information on how to become a volunteer. I choose to use google as my research criterion and found a very resourceful website with the information I needed. As you read my paper you will find information about being a volunteer, what benefits it has, and what opportunities are available. Below I listed some great information about becoming a volunteer.
As a volunteer As a volunteer, you can volunteer on your own or with your family or with a group. Volunteer your time, skills, services and talents. Opportunities are available with children, teens, adults, individuals with special needs and seniors. Volunteer your expertise and experience on a community board. Share your time as an instructor. Design a web page, troubleshoot computer problems, build a bookcase or serve as a mentor Volunteer by coordinating an event, project or publication. Volunteer by making an in-kind donation (new or used). Our partner agencies need everything from computers (hardware and software), office equipment and supplies, household goods to clothing and canned goods.
There are so many ways an individual can volunteer these days. Finding one that best suits you is important. You want to be comfortable while volunteering and know your gaining a great deal of knowledge to help improve your education. Search criterion When researching for information on volunteer opportunities in a local area, go online. The search criterion to start is to google local opportunities in your home town, the local area is Houston ,TX. The first listing is Volunteer Houston, http://volunteerhouston.org.
Volunteer Houston web site offer lots of useful information including, Volunteer programs, businesses, organizations, and events for Houston and surrounding areas. There was also a physical location I could visit to obtain any information regarding volunteering programs available.
Opportunities
When searching through the site there was a link to click for volunteers. Under the Volunteer section you could click on the following choices: Find an opportunity, Youth volunteers, Become a volunteer, Browse organizations, and Resources. Youth volunteer interested me, and some of the programs for volunteering under the Youth volunteer link included Boys and Girls Club and anti-bullying workshop. When going under the Browse organizations link I was able to find a list of organizations that have volunteer opportunities including the organizations name, city, state, and impact area for each one. There were many to choose from and each gave a brief description of the area of services it needed volunteers. There were too many to list but some including places such as ADVOCAP, Food pantries, Rehabilitation centers, the library and much more.
What do you have to offer the organization? My experience with people, positive attitude, and my previous volunteer time would be something I could offer any organization that is looking for volunteers in my area. I have worked as a volunteer at the Salvation Army, my local Job Center, and a few food pantries. I have worked with a various amount of different people, each with their own situation. I also believe my experience with computers would be helpful in some of the organizations. I have done some in home caregiving in my past giving me some opportunities to volunteer at a nursing home or group home. I have volunteered in the past at ADVOCAP Head Start program when my daughter was very young. I could be useful in some volunteer opportunities such as, Boys and Girls Club or the public library. Overall I think I would have a lot to offer anyone of the organizations in my town that has volunteer opportunities.
How will volunteering aid you in gaining experience in your area of interest? Volunteering is sometimes a first way to get a foot in the door of an organization or career field. You can do it as an individual or as part of a group or organization. I think that volunteering will help aid me in gaining experience in my area of interest by allowing me to work with many people, children and adults. My career choice will be a lot of communication skills with many various types of people. Learning to be in many different types of situations while volunteering will help me to handle them more efficiently and effectively depending on the circumstances. Many times when volunteering you are faced with some struggles such as, people who may be upset or very emotional. You can also experience this in a workplace environment.
Finding an organization that pertains to the area I am interested in might also have a volunteer position available for me to gain experience and extra knowledge. Overall I think volunteering is a great way to gain knowledge, experience, wisdom, and gratification from those who help.
Besides volunteering, there are other ways to gain experience in the field I am interested in. Some examples of these are: externships, internships, cooperative education, field study, and undergraduate research. Leadership and involvement in student and community organizations bs can be important ways to gain experience. Just because a job is not labeled as an internship does not mean it has no value. The value hinges on the job’s relevance to your career field or industry, the skills you develop, and the level of responsibility you earn. Part-time jobs and summer jobs can be a stepping stone to getting a completive internship that can help in the aid of my career choice. Another way to gain experience would be to get involved and to take a role, serve on a committee, run a project or event, or be an officer. I would prefer to find internship or part-time job I enjoy but will help me gain experience in the field I am studying. All of the opportunities I listed above would be beneficial to anyone looking to gain experience, including volunteering.
Conclusion
Through the research of this paper I was able to find some amazing opportunities to volunteer in my local community, ways to gain experience in my career choice, and involvement opportunities to further my education. I found so much information about my local organizations and upcoming events online that I was not aware of. Now I can find ways to keep myself busy when I have free time and share this information with those who are looking to volunteer. I will be able to add volunteer and community service work to my resume. It will show employers my personal experiences and that I am a devoted person when it comes to working with people. I think this would be a great way to involve my family. Volunteering does not need to be done alone, you can do it with your friends and family. With all the opportunities that I found I am sure I will gain enough experience to find a great career I am well skilled at and is a great personal fit for me.

References
Volunteer houston. (2015). Retrieved from http://