Undergraduate student, Rebecca Stewart, shares with us her personal story about the impact that volunteering has had upon her life, and why you should do some of your own volunteering too. You never know, it might just change your life!
Volunteering changed my life...
Okay, so it didn’t literally transform me over night. Nor has it solved all my problems, worries and struggles. I didn’t have some movie-worthy epiphany. But for everything that I’m about to tell you, volunteering changed my world. For the better.
I’ve always done some sort of volunteering for as long as I can remember. It just felt right, like what I should be doing. Don’t get me wrong, that is no bad reason to volunteer, and I am at pains to state that I have always enjoyed helping others in whatever way I can. And will continue to do so for a very long time. But I hadn’t really felt that true, amazing rewarding feeling that everybody always told me was what just *happens* when you volunteer. As if by magic.
That was until firstly, I went to South America for a few months and volunteered in a very deprived school in Arequipa, Peru. But secondly, and much more relevant as a UCL student, until I began volunteering with one of the Student-Led Projects here at UCL, After School Crew, amongst a couple of other projects I’ve also been involved with.
I’ll never forget when I first started. I went because I wanted a new way to meet people, and simply to continue my well-engrained desire to volunteer wherever I am in the world. I knew nobody and was a little terrified turning up to what felt like an empty church in an area of King’s Cross that I’d never been before. I followed my Google map directions and was convinced I’d stumbled upon the completely wrong venue. There was not a soul in sight. But I persisted and when I arrived, the leaders of the project at the time welcomed me so warmly and gave me a little introduction to the project before it began and children started arriving.
That very first session, I was assigned to work with one of the older girls who attended the club and was learning Spanish at school. Since I study Spanish, it was a perfect fit. She was so sweet, very chatty but wasn’t all that interested in doing any homework, wanting to tell me so much about the gossip going on at school and how frustrating teachers were. From that week on, I spent every session trying to help her with her Spanish, and we got to know each other really quite well. But she was still very disinterested in school, and we never really got much done, or so I felt. I started to realise that she was getting involved with the wrong kind of friends at school, and I tried to provide some wisdom for her when she needed it. As we talked more, I also realised there was just so much of the world that she didn’t even know existed, right in front of her very eyes. Then I realised it was the same for all the children who attended the club. They were all so closed off in their little bubble, and it wasn’t until meeting them, and their parents, I realised what a truly privileged life I’ve lead, and just how grateful I am to do so.
But I also gained an entirely new perspective, seeing the world through their eyes. Things I just assume everybody knows, or does, they really don’t! Things I just assume everybody has, they don’t! Even what I thought were the most basic things. It’s in moments like these that you really reflect on your own beliefs, values and the way of life you’ve always known.
Specifically, the girl I’m talking about thought her opportunities were so limited; she thought she could never leave the block of flats that she lives in; she didn’t know of any university or what it was like to go into higher education. Yet I could tell she had big dreams that were just desperately waiting to be unlocked.
Nonetheless, every week was always so much fun and we were never short of laughs, and crazy times as a whole group. Slowly, it became the absolute highlight of my week, the one time when I knew I could disconnect from my own work and focus on all the children we looked after, and meet with the other volunteers who I got to know really well. I loved it so much I became leader for the following years, and it was the best, easiest decision I ever made! I always felt so happy knowing that these children had a safe place to come to every Friday, without fail. And that was enough of an impact for me.
But parents would come in and thank us with such gratitude that I realised this project was more than just a homework club, but was making a real difference in the community and in the lives of both children and parents.
To top it all off, the girl who I had been looking after’s mum came in to personally thank me for the fact that her daughter’s Spanish grades had improved in school, and I couldn’t believe it! I was thrilled, excited, proud; in fact, I only imagine that the pride I felt would be somewhat similar to that of a mother’s for the achievements of her children!
Every week at After School Crew since has been pure joy in the most innocent way. What’s more, ever since that first day I was assigned to the young girl, I’ve not looked back and now I can’t imagine her not in my life. I’ve literally watched her, before my very eyes, become a young lady. From a girl who hadn’t even heard of university, to now aspiring to go herself. A girl who didn’t care about school or grades, to now telling me of the awards she keeps winning in recognition of all her hard work. She’s only one of a handful of children that the project has helped, and it’s an indescribable feeling knowing that I helped out in some small way. She often tells me I’ve inspired her, or I motivate her. But really, she inspires me. Way more than she realises. Not only in the way that she has totally turned her life around, in her new work ethic, in the way that I hope that I can keep her motivated, but in the way that it makes me so happy to see her newfound successes, and how proud she is of herself. And now I’m determined to keep helping children, young people, adults, anybody in any way I can, because ultimately, the only thing better than being happy yourself, is being able to make others happy, and volunteering has allowed me to do both.
Looking back on everything I’ve written, volunteering really has changed my life. On a more tangible level, I have gained leadership, organisation and problem-solving skills. Beyond this though, I gained a purpose and something to look forward to, I gained new perspectives and was able to see the world through the eyes of others like I’d never done before, and I gained true friends and so many happy memories. I learnt that there is nothing that can match the feeling of knowing you made an impact, be it big or small, in the lives of others, and in this sense, I gained some inspiration for the type of future career I want to embark on and what I want it to involve. But the thing I’ll treasure most from my entire experience, is that I gained the little sister I never had. A young girl who I can genuinely say inspires me every day. And for that, I will be forever grateful for the volunteering that I did with After School Crew.
So, next time a volunteering opportunity comes your way, or somebody asks you to start a project with them that involves serving others, or even, if you dare be more proactive and seek out your own opportunities in the community, keep this article in mind. Because if you ever needed a little push, it’s this. Show love, give love and in exchange , you’ll feel so much love. I assure you, you won’t regret it.
Written by Rebecca Stewart - Student Administrative Assistant
If you've been inspired to do some of your own volunteering, a great place to start is our directory, where you'll find all of the most up-to-date ways that you can get involved in making a difference in your own life and the lives of others. Or why not check out our list of partner organisations and contact them directly, if something specific pops to mind that you don't see advertised. And finally, make sure you're signed up to our weekly newsletter so you don't miss any of our exciting updates, especially now the world is opening up and volunteering in-person has become much more accessible!