5 Ways to Give Back to Society

Given their busy schedules, young professionals may find it harder to contribute to a social cause. However, doing good does not always require a lot of time commitment. This week we share with you 5 ways you can engage with society or inspire change easily, brought to you by Alastair Higginbottom from Salesforce.org.

1. Become a mentor

Young people massively benefit from additional support from what they receive through their regular school classes. As a mentor, you could help young people with their studies, help them access work experience, work through their ideas, support them when applying for higher education, and generally be a positive role model socially and educationally. If you have experience with recruitment, offering mock interviews to undergraduates to help them refine their interview skills may also be an option. If you wish to empower young adults with coding skills, setting up a local Code Club may be a great initiative too. Contact your local schools and higher education institutions to see if they operate a mentoring scheme that you may be of help to.

 2. Support local businesses, events and artists

Shop locally with local businesses, visit a local pub or restaurant or attend local artistic and cultural events. You will get more rounded idea of what is happening in your local area, meet new people, experience new things, all whilst keeping your local community vibrant and viable for the future, and you may even get to have a pint or meal out as well! Search for what’s going on in local business directories, or a community events calendar in your local area. There is no easier way to merge lifestyle, consumption and contribution to a social cause.

3. Help a local charity

In most communities you will find a number of small charities, many of which may be able to use your expertise and skills. This could be for a specific project or programme, to support web development or publicity, or to help with fundraising, mentoring staff, delivering services or even joining their Board of Trustees. Volunteering with small charities and developing your own skills – what could be better? Search for charities in your local area and give them a call.

4. Help teach someone to read or to speak a language

We all know hard it can be to integrate into a community, be it a new job or a new town. Imagine how hard it would be to do this if you couldn’t speak the language or didn’t know how to interact with the local administration. Teaching people to how to read or how to speak a language will help them become involved with and contribute to their local community. Search for local migrant support or educational charities to get involved.

5. Let others know what you are doing

Informing people about the great experiences you’ve had, the effect of what you’ve done, and the benefits you have felt, could be a great way to get them involved too. If everyone who did something for a charity or their local community encouraged one new person to become involved then it would make a massive difference and you get the added bonus of some Kudos for what you have been doing too! This is a great opportunity to leverage on social media and inspire your friends to contribute in their capacity too.

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