“It all started in a summer vacation. I was fresh out of school and like every other kid my age, I had an account on Orkut! This was my first foray into social media but while everyone my age was busy making friends online, I stumbled upon an organization’s open event calling for volunteers. Moving past the initial apprehension, I attended the event and it propelled me to attend their program every week.
With this began my lifelong love for volunteering. That event kindled my love for helping people and I took it upon myself to attend meetings every weekend without skipping even one. Eventually, I accompanied them to visit orphanages, conduct medical camps and cultural events.
People often ask me what I stand to gain from this – is it the gratitude I hold towards the world or just simply, for the love of it? But if I had to reflect on my journey, I have had a lot to take away. For one, volunteering taught me the life skill of networking!
Because eventually it was this skill that brought upon a huge change in my life. At a crucial point in my life when my dad was about to get a surgery for his lung cancer, I was able to rope in help from my circle to find a better way of treating it.
As a former IT employee who was actively working with the CSR wing of the company, volunteering threw in my way some of the most beautiful people I have known. I would even go on to say that these people significantly shaped the course my life would take.
And of course, meeting the love of my life – my husband, happened because of volunteering. We came together for the shared passion of leaving this world a better place and we have been actively holding up our part for it!
More than the designation I am assigned, I take immense pride when someone addresses as a ‘Volunteer’. Because, for what it’s worth, it has given me a lot in return and my life stands as a testimony to that.”
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