Its fair to say that I was passionate about the value and benefits of volunteering long before I became an expat. In my old life, I actually worked on a couple of campaigns that promoted its benefits to both individuals and society as whole.
Perhaps it was inevitable that in my new expat life with a bit more available time I would become an active volunteer. And while I knew about some of the benefits, the impact on my new expat life was greater than I anticipated – even when the work was scrubbing down dirty dog kennels!
Here’s my top 5 reasons to become a volunteer while you’re an expat, helping yourself while also helping others.
1. Find your tribe
As expats we’re often told to find our tribe of people as one of the crucial factors in making a new location successful. In my experience, far and away one of the easiest ways of meeting your tribe is to find a volunteer project or cause that you are passionate about and jump in to helping out. The odds are good that you’ll meet other volunteers who share your passions and have the same commitment and enthusiasm to helping out. You’ll probably share some of the same values. Before you know where you are, you’re part of a community of people who support each other in getting the work done. You’ll go from being the new girl to part of the team. You’ll have your tribe and they’ll teach you so much about your strange new world.
2. Gain perspective on your own life
There’s nothing like immersing yourself in other people’s needs to get some perspective on your own. I’m not downplaying the emotional and psychological rollercoaster that expat life can be but I’ve almost always come away from my volunteer experiences with a greater appreciation for my lot in life. And if practicing gratitude is the key to a happier life, volunteering can help with that too. I am grateful for those who work day in and day out in the organisations I volunteer with and I am profoundly grateful that at the end of the day, Himself, the dogs and I have a safe place to call home.
3. Get out of the expat bubble
The expat bubble is a wonderful place. I spent a lot of very happy time in it during our years in Norway and it was safe and warm and full of wonderful people. And there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that but I would have missed out on so much if I’d just stayed there. Volunteering has allowed me to see aspects of life in both Norway and Texas that I would never otherwise have understood and to learn more about how both societies deal with key social issues. I’ve learned all sorts of things about how life works in both locations that I could never have understood from inside the expat bubble – everything from government policy to attitudes to key social issues. It’s been a revelation.
4. Feed your self-esteem
Self-doubt and confusion are powerful emotions for the expat – knowing who you are and how you fit in a new place can be hard on the old self-esteem. You used to know everything and everyone and now, it’s all new and you know nothing. In the face of being uncertain about your own value, especially if, like me you’ve given up your own career to take on this crazy adventure, there’s nothing like being needed and having a purpose.
And the best volunteer involving organisations will make you feel both needed and appreciated. I’ve had a variety of volunteering experiences – some have been a case of taking on new challenges while others have specifically allowed me to use my professional skills and expertise. I’ve loved both and both have reminded me that I am of value and capable of making useful contributions to my new home.
5. Challenge yourself
As a volunteer at Fretex, which is a social enterprise that supports Norway’s Salvation Army as well as offering skills training for those who need extra help to get back into the workforce, I wrote a couple of press releases in Norwegian. Admittedly, the store manager was very patient and did quite a bit of editing but she pushed, cajoled and encouraged me to do it.
A completely terrifying and utterly exhilarating experience, particularly when one of the releases resulted in local TV and newspaper coverage.
Pretty much every volunteer experience I’ve had as an expat has pushed me out of my comfort zone in some way – sometimes it’s been my local knowledge; sometimes it’s been finding the emotional strength to cope with a distressing situation; sometimes it’s been new limits to my skills; my understanding of other cultures.
In every instance, I have learned and grown as a result.
If this expat life is meant to be about adventure, then volunteering has given me some of the greatest adventures I’ve ever had.
To learn about two organisations that I regularly volunteer with, please visit:
www.fbwc.org – Fort Bend Women’s Center
www.sugarlandpetopia.org – Sugar Land Animal Services
I would go a step further and say that those 5 reasons would be good for any of us, even if we’re not expats.
I think there’s some truth in that….