Unleashing the Power of Social Media: Revolutionizing Volunteering for Good!
The idea of writing on social media about your volunteering was just weird, you know, the left hand shouldn’t know what the right hand is doing.
It took me a long time to process this idea and to realise, it is great.
Most people drop a coin in a tin and feel great cause they contributed to a volunteer organisation. It is necessary because, without funding, Volunteer organisations can’t exist.
For some, that is not enough.
How to get involved and where to get involved is usually the problem. And, will I be okay to volunteer? Will I be of any use? Am I good enough?
This is where the magic of social media and writing about your own volunteer experiences come in.
Volunteers are everyday people with normal lives but with volunteering hearts.
Elizabeth Andrews summed it up beautifully: “Volunteers don’t necessarily have the time; they just have the heart.” A lot of people have the heart, they don’t know where to start or how to get involved.
What is the value of social media and an individual’s experiences with volunteering?
Let us have a look at Animal Rescue / Welfare. In the past several animal welfares used to post pictures of the dogs on ‘death row’.
Sad faces with dogs in horrible little cages. This was used to try and get support, animals adopted and funding.
Now take the same animal welfare but with a few volunteers using social media. Volunteer A works in the shop. On her volunteer days, she takes photos of what is in the shop and “behind the scenes” happenings in the shop. Her friends saw her posts and realised what exciting products the shop stocked but also got a glimpse of the fun and interactions between the volunteers. Just by Volunteer A’s posts, the shop got more customers and even extra hands to help.
Volunteer B likes to work hands-on with the animals. This is probably the most frightening part of animal volunteering, an area most people try to ignore/avoid. Just like Volunteer A, Volunteer B posts photos and stories of her day’s volunteering.
Suddenly, a new world starts to open for her social media friends.
Working with the animals is not just doom and gloom and sad faces. Her posts tell of, yes, heartache, but also about fulfilling moments when an animal gets rescued from bad circumstances and suddenly receives an abundance of love from the volunteers. They see volunteers taking dogs for a walk or just a big fat cuddle.
They see the personalities of the animals through a volunteer’s photos. By posting about her day, Volunteer B helped to get some funding, maybe get an animal a new home or even a new dog cuddler.
It is easy to shoot down volunteers posting about what they do; instead of seeing the negative, think about the change that posts might make.
Maybe to get a new volunteer, funding or even an animal a new home. Social Media is a wonderful tool; if it can change a person or an animal’s life, why not use it?