Yayasan Suria JB(YSJB) – Volunteerism comes in many forms, shapes & sizes!
After all these years volunteering, it is observed that without passion, a desire to get out of your comfort zone and a genuine need to care for others, don’t waste your time volunteering.
It will be a waste of your time for, whether volunteerism is inborn or
acquired/learned, one needs to be passionate about helping others in need.
You do not need to have money in this materialistic world to volunteer or have a high academic qualification – just a genuine desire to help others, it can be in the form of time(like reading a story book to a child at a children home, cutting the finger nails of the elderly at an old folks home, etc), driving a volunteer like me around so that I can be free to answer calls/messages, or volunteering to man YSJB’s office at Taman Johor Jaya(vacuuming the office, sorting out at the store, etc).
There will always be chores to do if the heart is willing to help others. It just takes an open heart and a true desire/passion to serve with L
ve & Humility.
No passion = No energy = No happiness.
A couple of months ago, I received a call from a young man(30+) who wanted to do volunteer work and I picked him up, he followed me around in my Toyota Hilux – buying goodies for food bank, picking up preloved items, sorting them out at my office/store, picking up bread & buns, etc.
Just after lunch, after about 4 hours of volunteering, he complained he was tired and wanted to go back. I told him the reason why he was tired – no passion, to him doing all these mundane chores were a torture, drudgery, something against his will because he did not really like what he was doing. And that was the last time I ever saw him again!
For volunteers like me, it’s a passion, we look forward to serve, to help, to care – we get so much joy that we are so energized and with so much enthusiasm and energy, we can go on and on for 12 hours at a stretch without feeling a moment of dullness and tiredness.
Why? Because of passion, the desire to serve, you get so much energy, so much joy & happiness, like a hobby you loved indulging in. Time passes so fast and before you know it, it is about 6.00 pm, having started at 9.00 am which is the usual time I get out of the house.
There is another group of volunteers who offer their prayers for the safety/wellbeing of volunteers like us – from various religious groups for at YSJB we are coloured blind.
I get a lot of supporters from various religions. As I cover about 5,000 km monthly in my Toyota Hilux, my safety on the road has the concern of this praying group of volunteers – daily, they offer up their prayers for volunteers like us.
Another group of volunteers go around their friends, collecting small amounts of money for us. I have a lady who goes around collecting even RM1 from many people (sometimes her list can consists of 40 to 50 names, totaling about RM100 and sending the money to YSJB). Such dedication, such concern and such love towards volunteers like us.
I do get calls from people requesting me to go to their houses to pick up some special drinks, some special cookies/cakes/cooked food which they prepared personally for volunteers – such are the concerns for wellbeings people have for volunteers.
They told us that the work we are doing(going round daily helping the Poor & Needy), they can’t do – what they can do is to take care of us so that we will be healthy, happy and have the motivation to go on helping others.
As some donors say “It’s easy for us to just click a few buttons, donate a certain amount to YSJB, feel good knowing that they have done something to help others. But after that the hard work begins for the volunteers like you, to use the money to buy the goodies, pack them and distribute them to the needy families.”
A lot of people called me to volunteer by offering their expertice to improve the running of YSJB or offering solutions to make things more efficient for YSJB so that I can have more time to rest and recharge myself. Such kind gestures & concerns motivate volunteers like us to keep on going knowing that people out there do care for us!
Indeed, I can go on and on about how one can volunteer – thousand and one ways – it only takes passion and a genuine desire to help and you can be a great potential future volunteer!
Welcome to the world of volunteerism?