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In February 2015, I tied my cloth to that of the Young at Heart fraternity as a volunteer. Since then, I’ve been part of a number of outreaches and several campaigns that have been championed by the organization. 

My involvement with the organization and interaction with the other volunteers has taught me some valuable lessons on social entrepreneurship and volunteerism. 

This post will be a discussion on some qualities that have been exhibited by these volunteers whiles partaking in Young at Heart GH. outreaches and campaigns. These are qualities that every social enterprise or NGO should promote amongst it’s volunteers to accelerate the achievement of it’s set objectives.

VISIONARY : The first quality of good volunteers is that they are visionaries. They’re men and women who can imagine a world that is more beautiful than the present reality. Every worthwhile volunteering initiative is aimed at fulfilling a vision of making the world better in one way or the other. At Young at Heart , the organization has a vision “ to champion Computer Literacy among children in Africa with special focus on Rural Africa via Computers and other E-learning platforms ” And volunteers share in that vision, hence their involvement with the organization.

VENTUROUS : A person who is venturous is one who is willing to take risk and try out  new things. To respond to the call to volunteerism demands a willingness to sacrifice one’s time, energy, money and other resources as well as stepping outside your comfort zone all in the name of making a difference in the life of of others. If you’re risk averse, then maybe, the idea of becoming a volunteer for some good cause may not be appealing to you.

VERSATILE : Volunteerism requires a great deal of versatility. The best of volunteers are those who are excellent at adapting to different roles and environment. If you choose to volunteer for a cause, you’re usually going to be expected to  engage in activities such as fund raising, publicity, organising outreaches just to mention a few. Not only that, depending on the nature of the task you’re volunteering for, you may have to adapt to different environments as well. 

VIBRANT : Being vibrant means “being full of life and energy.” Any team of volunteers that lacks vibrancy will soon quit their pursuits. This is because without vibrant volunteers, the team will lack the positivity, passion and persistence necessary to sustain it’s efforts. This quality becomes even more important because people usually do not gain any direct economic or monetary benefits from volunteering their time and talents. Thus, without it, they are likely to quit at the least sign of discomfort.

VICARIOUS : Every well meaning volunteer (irrespective of religious affiliation) is a vicar or agent of God’s love to the world. This is true because the work of every good volunteer is always aimed at diminishing some disadvantages in society and inspiring hope.

These are some of the qualities of good volunteers that I’ve learnt from my experience as a member of the Young at Heart GH team. Do you have some volunteering experience? What other qualities do you think are indicative of a good volunteer? Feel free to share your thoughts.