📘 Part 3: Volunteering

This episode's vocabulary

Self-development (noun) - the process in which a person grows or changes and becomes more advanced through their own efforts.

Win-win (adj.) - a win-win situation or result is one that is good for everyone who is involved.

The latter - the second of two people, things, or groups previously mentioned.

The former - the first of two people, things, or groups previously mentioned.

To skew (verb) - to cause something to be not straight or exact; to twist or distort.

Warm, fuzzy feeling - feelings of happiness.

Trait (noun) - a particular characteristic that can produce a particular type of behaviour.

Workforce (noun) - all the people who work for a company or organization.

Committed (adj.) - having promised to be involved in a plan of action.

To vet (verb) - to study something, or to examine a person’s record to see that it is acceptable or accurate.

One-off (adj.) - happening only once.

Publicity stunt (noun) - something unusual that is done to attract people's attention to a particular person, product, or organization.

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Questions and Answers

M: Rory, let's talk about volunteering. Should more people take part in volunteering?

R: Well, is there such thing as too many volunteers? I think we could all do well, to help each other out more. I don't think it has to be anything overly formal, like working for a specific organization. But just giving our spare time to do good works where we can would be nice. And well, doing it more often would be nice.

M: Why is it necessary to do volunteer services?

R: Well, everyone benefits, don't they? The volunteer gets the self-development and maybe some sort of qualification out of it all. And the organization gets someone to work for them. And the people being supported get what they need too. So all of this is like a win-win situation.

M: What can schools do to develop students' awareness of volunteering?

R: I suppose telling them about it seems like a good first step. But that's more necessary than sufficient. They can also supply them with the tools and the opportunities to take part and demonstrate how they can contribute to their community and the well-being of others. I suppose that's easier said than done, though, now I think about it.

M: Who benefits more from the volunteer services, the volunteers, or the people who got help?

R: I imagine, probably the latter more than the former. I mean, they get direct support to achieve what they need. And the volunteer loses their free time for themselves. Unless they were getting something out of it. I don't think that's to say there's no benefit to the volunteer though. And in some cases, it might go the other way. But that's how the balance is usually skewed.

M: How do volunteers benefit?

R: Well, they get the warm, fuzzy feeling of helping others, don't they? And they can further develop as people, even if that's just a trait like patience. And it's, like I say it's possible they get some sort of qualification out of it. For example, I think doing good works as part of the Duke of Edinburgh Award in Scotland.

M: What are the benefits of having volunteer unpaid workers?

R: I suppose the most obvious seems to be not having to pay the workforce. And you know, they're committed to the cause, since that's what they chose to do with their time. Outside of that, I imagine that it's possible there's some tax breaks involved for employing volunteers, but that depends on the country.

M: Should professionals be hired instead of volunteer unpaid workers?

R: That's an interesting question, actually. And it probably depends on the field and question. If we think about the army, clearly, it would be better to have trained professionals rather than just randoms off the street. However, for less crucial jobs, especially those intended to supply people with experience, I think volunteers might be just as capable. They might even be the only choice since professional people will usually only work for a wage.

M: How can companies engage in volunteering and help society?

R: Well, the same way everyone else does. By researching opportunities that are relevant and open to them and going through the vetting process to get there. For example, I think our local McDonald's does a lot of work in community cleanup. But they got to do that by proving this would be a long-term investment in their local area rather than just a one-off publicity stunt.

M: Thank you for your answers!

R: No problem!

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