Charity: Donating your time without the costs
One of my resolutions this year is to get involved with a charity and do some volunteer work. Normally I would make a yearly donation to various charities but this year I really wanted to dive in and make a more personal contribution by giving up my time to help.
After doing a bit of research on this I realised that volunteering…Not Cheap!! I looked at spending a few weeks abroad to help out with third world community development, orphanage volunteering as well as animal welfare and all options cost more than any holiday I have ever paid for! :-O
I can appreciate that housing, food and flights for volunteers aren’t cheap but I was surprised that there was no discounted concession for this under the charity, airlines etc so more people are encouraged to get involved.
Refusing to be deflated by this I looked at other options close to home (London) and to my shock, most major (well-known) charities had a “wait list” or an application process that has admin fees! I am totally dumb-founded by this.
However with a bit of help from www.do-it.org.uk I found some interesting Volunteering roles in London that sounded great and don’t cost a penny! 
Here are some of my favourites;
- Mentor a Young Person – Friendship Works – See here
- Hospital Radio Station Volunteer - See here
- Festivals/Events Organiser - See here
- Library Events Volunteer – See here
So I’m opening up my comments feed! Tell me how you plan to donate your time this year. I would love to hear of any other vacancies that are available. Either from charities themselves or if you are a part of a charity please post the role title, where it is and the link and lets help more people give their time without having to pay to volunteer.
I would love to hear of any other vacancies that are available. Either from charities themselves or if you are a part of a charity please post the role title, where it is and the link and lets help more people give their time without having to pay to volunteer. I would also love to hear if there are any airlines out there who offer discounts to volunteers who are donating their help abroad.
Lets make 2013 a year of giving!
I’ve been a mentor for the past few months and am really glad I’m involved. I know I’m getting as much out of it as my mentee and it feels good to do good you know.
Hi Mo’ Money Mo’ Houses,
That’s something I have been looking into also. Seems a lovely and personal way to give back. Glad to get some feedback from someone who is a mentor though.
Thanks for commenting!