Recently I happened to visit my neighborhood post office which is located within a large compound. It was a weekend; Saturday to be precise.
Just to the side of the entrance of the post office, I found a huge crowd gathered around a rickety desk behind which a young man was sitting. He was busy filling money order forms. The people who were milling around his desk, I discovered, were daily wage workers who had migrated to Bangalore in search of a livelihood. They were for the most part illiterate. What the young man was doing was just helping them out with filling their money order forms. Money order was the only means they have for sending some money to folks back home. When I got to speak with the young man later, I came to know that he was a software engineer with a major company. Every Saturday he would make his way to the post office to help out these simple folks. Though he would end up spending couple of hours of his time, he says he quite enjoys it. In fact, he says, this activity on a weekend gives him the greatest pleasure.How often have we found ourselves locked up in the routine of our lives, bemoaning this "rat-race" and seeking an escape into something that will bring more balance into our lives, more meaning too.
Volunteering can be an answer. Volunteering is a good way to discover something that you are really good at or to develop a new skill.
Here are a few benefits of volunteering:
Topics: Workplace Tips