Volunteer benefits are plentiful, both personally and professionally. You gain a sense of belonging to the community, whether that is your church or civic community (the personal) or company or professional organization (the professional). I'd like to share five ways that you can benefit from volunteering in the Lone Star Community.
Benefit #1:Meeting new people. We always have new members and guests joining our meetings. Introducing yourself to folks you don't recognize helps build networking contacts, as well as helps guests and new members feel welcome to LSC. I'm sure you can all remember a time when you walked into a room not knowing anyone and wished that someone would talk to you and offer to sit down with you to learn more about you. I encourage you to look around at our next Community meeting on November 3rd to seek out a new face, introduce yourself, and gain one new networking contact.
Benefit #2:Helping LSC to become more recognized. Each year the LSC enters in several Society-based competitions, like the Newsletter Competition, Public Relations Competition, and Chapter Achievement Award Competition. We also seek to gain local recognition through our many press releases that our Public Relations Committee sends out.
Recognition for the Community turns into your own self-recognition. How, you ask! By volunteering to help spread the word about our monthly meetings, competitions, workshops, and other events that we offer throughout the year. Another way you can benefit is in writing newsletter articles for Technically Write or learning to write press releases by serving on the Public Relations Committee. This Committee does an excellent job at writing press releases for every event that LSC holds throughout the year, which are not just the monthly meetings.
Benefit #3:Developing and practicing new skills. LSC is a great place to volunteer to develop new skills or practice a skill you have just learned. You can volunteer to help in an area that you know nothing about. What better way to learn a new skill, like writing press releases or being a meeting reporter, to practice a style of writing that is different than that of your career job.
LSC holds workshops at least once a year to benefit the membership and expand upon their knowledge. You can volunteer to present a workshop session in front of your own Community peers. Presenting gives you a friendly forum for practicing presentation skills, designing presentations, and sharing a bit of yourself and your knowledge with others. Think of this as the springboard to presenting in front of your company leaders. What better way to work out the "butterflies-in-the-stomach" syndrome by practicing with a group that knows you well.
Benefit #4:Making a start. Volunteering can give you a personal boost to your self-esteem. We need volunteers to help LSC thrive and provide you with the programs, workshops, and other events that are meaningful to you. Making a start requires that you take a step forward, share your ideas, join a committee, and turn your ideas into reality. Remember, the word "committee" does not mean one person, it means a group of people working towards a common goal.
Benefit #5:Getting involved. The previous four benefits feed into this last benefit: Involvement. Without your involvement, LSC cannot offer all the programs that it would like. With over 300 members, we need you to join us and help continue building a Community that provides you with the outlets you need to grow personally and professionally. I encourage you get involved.
The LARGEST benefit of all in volunteering is that you can add your service to your résumé. You can show potential employers that you have experience in leading a committee, working as a team player, adding value by sharing your professional experience with your professional organization, and many other examples to show that you are the right candidate for their organization.
Where can you find out more about LSC Volunteer opportunities? By reading the IPIC notices, checking the LSC Volunteer web page (http://www.stc-dfw.org/pages/volun_main.htm), and even e-mailing me at volunteers@stc-dfw.org letting us know where you feel you can make a difference.
Volunteer Opportunities This Month
Step up for:
Education Workshop Committee: Arroxane Ullman can use your help in putting together our Spring 2006 workshop.
Ft. Worth Satellite Committee: Jean Guyden is looking for speakers for January through May 2006 for the Ft. Worth SatCats.
Newsletter Columnists and Contributors: Doug Dow can always use articles for Technically Write.
Get involved today to make a difference in your community!
