Ask most oany volunteer and they will tell you that they have gotten just as much out of serving others as those they served have gained from them. Remember that your service will be successful if you give something of yourself to better the world and if you allow yourself to be challenged and changed by serving.

Here are a few tips on how you can make your volunteer experience last a lifetime...

FOR YOU:

• Pick the right project- Not every volunteer experience will have the same level of meaning for you. Put some effort into thinking about what kind of volunteer experience you would like to have. Ask yourself: What kind of work would I like to do? What groups would I like to help (Seniors? Children? Animals?) What social/ environmental issues would I like to address? How much time do I have to volunteer? What do I want to get out of volunteering (A chance to make a difference? Use a skill or talent? Professional experience/contacts? Meet people?). Adapted from the UCI Student Volunteer Handbook
  
  
• Become a part of the mission- Learn about the organization's mission and how your efforts fit into the big picture. This will help you feel connected to your work there and will give it greater meaning. One way you might learn about the organization is to ask for a tour of the facility or ask questions that interest you to the person who orients you.
  
  
• Stretch- Stretch beyond your comfort level. Often service brings volunteers in contact with populations with which they may have little experience. Vow to yourself that you will learn something new and stretch yourself.
  
  
• Reflect- What aspects of your service did you find meaningful or enjoyable? Why? If you could change something about your experience, what would it be? What challenged you? Do you feel you had an impact on the issue you worked on or the people you served? Did you volunteer experience have an impact on you?
  
  

FOR THE PEOPLE YOU SERVE:

• Listen-up! "The greatest need of the human heart is to feel understood." - Oprah If you are working with the organization's clients, listen to them and remember to listen more than you talk. Listening validates other's experiences and will help them feel comfortable. You may learn something as well. One common sense cautionary note: Avoid extremely personal questions or questions that may embarrass them.
  
  
• Engage- Go out of your way to interact with the people you are serving, other volunteers and staff people. Share yourself with them. Even if you are just there for a short project, you can still have a lasting impact on those you are serving and others can have an impact on you.
  
  
• Go above and beyond- If you finish the task you came to do, ask the agency for another project that could use your help. You will get to see a different aspect of th organization and have another experience.

"The human contribution is the essential ingredient. It is only in the giving of oneself to other that we truly live" - Ethel Percy Andrus.