Volunteering Makes a World of a Difference
As an organization, Greenheart is the first exchange sponsor to encourage not only participants but host families, businesses, partners, and Greenheart staff to volunteer.
Volunteering comes in all shapes and sizes. Whether it is a group activity picking up trash at a local park or packing up lunches for a homeless shelter, volunteering helps not only the community you are in, but it also helps develop you as a global citizen. Participating in any community service can create additional opportunities for your career and foster a sense of community in your town.
Regardless of how you are involved with Greenheart International, you can sign up for the Greenheart Club. The Club is an easy way to collect your volunteer hours throughout the year. You can also access resources and other individual Greenheart pages. You can access the club using the URL greenheartclub.org. You will need a specific code, so please reach out to the club@greenheart.org for access.
When creating an event or finding ways to volunteer, it is important to understand how Greenheart interprets volunteering and the different kinds of services you can assist with.
What is volunteer service?
Volunteer service can mean different things to different people. Here at Greenheart, volunteer service is defined as any work done for the benefit of others or the environment without any direct personal profit.
There are two main types of service:
1. Direct Service: With direct service, typically the work is physical in nature, for example, assisting in a community service project, soup kitchen, library, park clean-up, forest restoration, helping youth or the elderly, disaster relief, etc. You are directly confronting an issue in a hands-on way and facing your community with positive action.
2. Indirect Service: Indirect service is all about the action that happens behind the scenes. This could include fundraising, advocacy, service as a board member to a non-profit, generating awareness around an important cause, etc. You are often working with others, developing projects and programs to help your community, often leading to direct service.
Examples of Quality Volunteer Service:
- Helping humanitarian organizations (Meals on Wheels, Red Cross, United Way, Habitat for Humanity)
- Volunteering at a museum, cultural center, soup kitchen, shelter, or library
- Working with animals in need (Anti-Cruelty Society)
- Volunteering with youth, the elderly, or people with disabilities
- Environmental volunteerism (park clean-ups, invasive species removal, tree planting, reforestation, etc.)
Not considered Volunteer Service by Greenheart:
- Extracurricular activities (managing/coaching a sports team, school plays, yearbook club, park district courses, yard work)
- Membership meetings of service clubs (Rotary or Key Club) and/or religious communities
- Helping immediate family members or host family members (babysitting or other familial obligations)
- Volunteering at a business that is not addressing a social or environmental cause.
If you have any questions about our volunteer guidelines, please feel free to send us an email at club@greenheart.org.
Happy volunteering [and logging hours in Greenheart Club]!
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