Volunteering can be life changing. According to the University of Nevada, teens who volunteer at least one hour each week are 50 percent less likely to abuse alcohol, smoke cigarettes, become pregnant, or engage in destructive behavior.
And the importance of volunteering goes beyond keeping students out of trouble–it also builds their confidence in all aspects of their lives. If you feel your student is lacking self-confidence, signing them up for volunteering might be a smart decision.
Learn New Life Skills as a Volunteer
Volunteering builds a variety of life skills, from interpersonal communication to empathy and humility. This is due to the fact that many volunteers work in teams, which requires students to be able to work with others, even people they’ve never met before or who may be older than them.
Volunteers are often a diverse group of people, requiring students to build interpersonal communication skills that are strong enough to cross these boundaries. This builds their confidence in their communication and leadership skills.
Develop Emotional Intelligence Through Volunteering
For a student who always has enough to eat and a place to sleep, volunteering can be particularly eye-opening. Students who volunteer will work with people who haven’t had the same advantages in life as they have. The more they learn to be grateful for what they have in life, the more empathy they’re likely to have.
Awareness of how good they have it can also help students develop a positive mindset. This grows your student’s confidence by encouraging them to be optimistic, instead of beating themselves up for their shortcomings.
Through volunteering, students will also learn to be resilient when facing emotionally challenging situations. Building this resilience will help them overcome problems later on in their professional and personal lives.
Grow Comfortable in Unfamiliar Situations
Most students go from their home to school to an extracurricular and back home. This routine doesn’t allow students to build their confidence in uncomfortable situations, simply because there is little variation in their sheltered day-to-day lives. Volunteering opens the door to scenarios where students are truly outside of their comfort zone.
As students build a track record of success in situations where they would otherwise feel uncomfortable, they’ll slowly build their confidence. The more they’re exposed to new people and places, the more confident they’ll be the next time they find themselves in an unfamiliar situation.
Connect with People of All Ages and Backgrounds
Volunteering is a great way to grow your child’s confidence in their social skills. Through volunteering organizations, your student has the opportunity to meet new people with similar interests who want to help others. Unlike other social situations, volunteers are typically working towards a collective goal, which takes the pressure off the student to make small talk.
According to VolunteerHub, today’s volunteers are a more diverse group than ever before, coming from different backgrounds, ages, and more. Students can experience different cultures and new perspectives.
Learning from a diverse group builds students’ emotional intelligence and teaches them how to interact with others thoughtfully and respectfully which builds empathy and emotional intelligence.
The Lifelong Importance of Volunteering
Volunteering now can help your child reach their goals later in life. Colleges take volunteer history into consideration when looking for well-rounded students. Future employers may value an employee who gives back to their community. While student's shouldn't volunteer just because it looks good on a resume, it's worth considering how volunteer jobs can help applicants stand out.
At LeadYouth, we know how important it is that our students are confident and believe in themselves. We teach three essential pillars that help learners become confident leaders and communicators: Leadership, Public Speaking, and Emotional Intelligence. Sign your child up for LeadYouth today.
Comentarios