I have a friend who is working at a NGO in Guatemala to give farmers their own piece of land back. Another one who is actively involved in building a more sustainable community with a bees farm. I have always admired them. What about me?

Since some years I have been thinking about giving something back to society. Though as many of my peers, there is just not enough time in life to work, do grocery, sports, have a partner, hug friends, deal with bureaucracy and everything else everyone expects us to do.

These are not excuses. We are all genuinely busy with our own survival, ambitions and needs. I understand and don’t judge people who just can’t find the time to add something else to their ToDo’s list.

Nevertheless we shall recognize how many of us in this network are privileged citizens. Perhaps we were not always like this. Maybe our parents and grandparents didn’t have a privilege at all. But if you had the chance to go to university and can read this text in English even though this is not your mother tongue, well, let’s face reality.

With that in mind few weeks ago I discovered that I could be a volunteer online. What a marvelous idea! I just need internet connection and a device to write my ideas?!? Really?

Yes, really. I found many programs I could translate texts from another language to my native one, others that I could use my business knowledge. Even some that I could put my passion about Marketing into practice.

“Kati, you say that because you are on a sabbatical therefore you have free time”. Obviously that is the case. That is how I found these volunteering programs in the first place. Nevertheless if you look closer at them, there are many initiatives that require 1 to maximum 3 hours of work per week.

I don’t mean to make you feel worse about yourself if you haven’t done anything in the non-profit field. If you allow me to, I will go ahead and share with you my experience so far and why it is so interesting:

I do what I love: In my case, Marketing Strategy. There are offers for all tastes. I found these ones and I am sure other organizations also have a wide variety of cool initiatives that might touch your heart.

Exchange with other professionals: On many occasions volunteers work as a team. There are really good people out there willing to share their time and expertise with others. You might be lucky enough to find them during your volunteering work and learn together/from them.

Financial help is good, but giving your time can be even better: Think about how many times you helped your neighbor, relative or friend with something he/she needed. If you would have come around and given money, that would also have been a way of support, but perhaps not that efficient. The neighbor just needed you to teach him/her how to sell his/her furniture online. Your friend wanted some support to take care of his/her children while he/she visited his/her partner at the hospital. I am not against money donations, but if you can give a little time to others, why not?

Jump over your own shadow: This can work as a big eye opener about others’ concerns, which could be even more alarming than ours. You can decide whether to go international and learn about another country or to help your own people and still have great new insights about your neighbor’s reality.

Flexibility: By having the possibility to contribute online, I can always find time to download texts and read them offline to prepare myself for the next milestone. I can choose when is the best time to contact my team as we communicate asynchronously and work in different time zones.

Help local organisations: In some countries and initiatives, worldwide organisations act more as a facilitator for local communities to find support e.g. volunteers. Giving a hand to the people on the ground for a initiative that you believe in can be much more helpful than supporting huge organisations in a general manner.

It is not about you feeling better about yourself: We are neither Madre Teresa nor we are terrible people. We are doing our best to live a life worth living. If you deeply want to help others, go ahead. If you can’t or don’t want to compromise your schedule by doing so, it is your decision and it should be respected. But when you make a decision, do it with your whole heart and genuinely for others.

I felt a bit awkward writing this article exposing myself and my volunteering work. At the same time I had the impression I could share this experience while being humble and realistic.

Again, this article is also not about me being a great person because I help others in need. It is meant as a little contribution for those who don’t see many alternatives to support others due to circumstances of time, opportunity and knowledge about the offers out there.

It would make my day if you would see these lines I wrote as an inspiration to give a little bit of your love back to people around you and perhaps all over the world.