Want to do some good in the world but don’t know where to start? Make Good Grow has the answer!
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With the latest announcement of another covid lockdown you might expect people to become increasingly frustrated and fatigued by the ever changing restrictions on our lives. But just like back in 2020, it is the positivity of many people’s responses to the difficult situations that stand out.
Records were set by fundraisers, vast numbers signed up to volunteer and many charities started to get the attention they deserved for so long. With a year like no other behind us, it’s no surprise that more and more people are feeling a stronger need to “do good” than ever before.
And there are great reasons to be a little more altruistic. Let’s not forget that ‘doing good feels good.’ Acts of kindness cause the brain to produce oxytocin which aids in lowering blood pressure and improving our overall heart-health. Doing good deeds stimulates the production of serotonin. This feel-good chemical that heals your wounds, calms you down, and makes you happy! Volunteering can also be used to learn new skills, meet new people or simply give something back to an organisation that has impacted your life.
It’s not just individuals that can benefit from volunteering though. More and more businesses are giving their employees time off throughout the year to carry out volunteering in their community and are seeing huge benefits from these programmes;
Source – https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesbusinessdevelopmentcouncil/2018/05/30/why-your-company-should-be-more-socially-responsible/#77b672f72c32
And these all lead to driving performance;
Businesses who engage in corporate social responsibility programmes outperform others by developing a positive image among their stakeholders, recruiting and engaging talented employees, and decreasing overall costs.
But there is a catch … a lot of the time these volunteering days take the form of physical work such as gardening or painting and these projects lack real impact for the charity. These activities are carried out by highly skilled individuals who could deliver so much more value by aligning what they are good at with the real problems a charity might be experiencing.
So, if you want to use your skills for good where can you turn? How can you find a skilled volunteering opportunity that fits in around your busy schedule?
Here at Make Good Grow, we think we’ve come up with the answer;
We have launched a volunteering platform with a difference, bringing together the skills of volunteers with the passion of Community Groups to work on high impact projects, together. The result? You can have a huge impact, without the need to overcommit!
So, how does it work?
We run our volunteering projects over a 2-week period, but the number of hours you give is entirely flexible.
- Objectives for the project are defined at the start, so the charity knows exactly what the end goal and output will be.
- After every project, Make Good Grow takes care of summarising all the good that’s been done, producing an Impact Report.
A Make Good Grow Impact Story
No ambiguity, no over-commitment… just great ways to help the causes you’re passionate about! What’s not to like?
Since we launched the platform in September 2020, we’ve started working with 72 charities, run 20 high impact projects, and had over 300 people sign up to the platform.
As we look forward to 2021, we’re aiming to run 500 projects which is the equivalent of adding over half a million pounds worth of value into the third sector.
Want to get involved?
Simply head over to makegoodgrow.com and sign up as a passioneer! Tell us what skills you have and we’ll start sending you personalised opportunities that match your profile, meaning you can make 2021 the year that you helped a cause that you love.
Written by Josh Pinfold, General Manager at Make Good Grow