I am a high school student who just finished Grade 11 and will be heading into Grade 12 this fall! Ever since I started high school, volunteering has become an important and very prevalent aspect of my life. Originally, I started volunteering to complete the mandatory 40 hours to graduate and I viewed it as something obligatory. Frankly, it was something I was dreading. However, it all changed after my first volunteering experience.
I remember the first taste of volunteering I got was at Cambridge Winterfest where I helped set up for an event. Many may think that volunteering just consists of mindless tasks that continue for hours on end; in reality, that’s not the case for most scenarios. At Cambridge Winterfest, I met so many other volunteers which seemed intimidating at first, but we soon got to talking and I learned so much. They told me about the event, and I thought, “Wow, doing something so small like setting up a table can help contribute to such an amazing event.”
This has continued throughout my time in high school at many different positions. Most recently, I volunteered at a program called Board Games & Mingle, which is an intergenerational program for all to participate in. I remember going to this program really opened up my eyes to the diversity of volunteering. Volunteers came to play games, enjoy each other’s company and share different perspectives. Through volunteering, I’ve met so many kind and incredible people, and I learned so much about my community, different cultures, and local issues. I normally wouldn’t have experienced these things if I hadn’t stepped out of my comfort zone and taken these chances.
As I mentioned, volunteering has become a big part of my life, and I actually set a new goal relating to it! Recently, the Minister’s Certificate of Recognition for Community Involvement was introduced by the Ontario Government for high school students. I’m aiming for the Gold certificate, which requires over 200 volunteer hours. Since this year has been declared the International Volunteer Year (IVY) for Sustainable Development by the United Nations General Assembly, I’m aiming to get this certificate by the end of this year, because when is a better time than now?
This article was written for VWR by WRDSB co-op student Akshaya.