All you need to know about…

giving happiness global impact

Day 242: It’s H.E.Y. Day! How Can Gen Y Volunteer?

How can a Gen Y Volunteer? How can they change the world? Giving is an easy and fun way to give back with a few volunteer opportunities thrown in.

I have said many times it will be Gen Y that will be the inspired generation to change the world. Today I saw first hand how youth are inspiring youth to volunteer and help create change all over the world. They seem to know the answer before we do – How Can Gen Y Volunteer.

Day 242: Give 242

I don’t have any regrets about my life at the age of 42 but I do wish I had spent more time giving back in my youth. I wish I had taken a few months or a year to volunteer some where in the world other than Toronto. I meet young people that are doing this all the time now. They travel to remote places in the world and volunteer to work at an orphanage or build a home. They return from their volunteer work changed. They no longer see the world as they used to and understand the challenges that so many face.  They in turn spend their lives more aware and more generous of their time and money.

Today I met a young women, Donya Jalali that is part of an organization called YouthVOC. Their mission is inspiring:

To inspire youth to broaden their horizons, and become aware of their own abilities to make a positive impact in the local and global community by providing volunteer resources.

H.E.Y Day was born from this mission and it brought together organizations the give back every day and give youth the opportunity to volunteer their time. So if you are asking the question How Can Gen Y Volunteer the answer is here. Here are the organizations that participated so you to can inspire your children to volunteer.

Me to We ,                            CUSO-VSO

AFS Interculture Canada,         CIDA

Peace Corps QUEST University Canada

All Access David Suzuki Foundation

Gokatimavik Lookout Emergency Aid Society

Big Brothers Atin Afrika Foundation Canada World Youth

It only takes one person to create great change in the world and that person may be you or it may be your child. Open your world to the opportunity of volunteering no matter what your age. It can be in your own back yard or on the other side of the world. I have personally spent endless hours volunteering and this time has been some of the most rewarding times of my life. I plan to volunteer for my entire life and inspire my son to do the same.

365give wants to know what you have done to volunteer? How Can Gen Y Volunteer? Leave a comment or tweet us at @365give.

Time Commitment: 1 hour on site talking with the organizations and volunteers

Cost: 0 Happy to share their story

What people are saying about 365give

“I wanted to express my gratitude for the teaching you provided today. Your message was delivered eloquently, compassionately, and without judgment. The kids were engaged, and now have knowledge with which they can change the world. We all appreciated how you took the time to help us learn to build positive mindsets and practice happiness.”
Shelley Gardner, Grade 6 Ridgeview Elementary (West Vancouver)
“Actions really do speak louder than words, which is why I believe the 365give Challenge has resonated throughout my community. Every give we do is so important to us and leaves us happier and appreciating our lives a little bit more than before.”
Mahina Niyozova (Tajikistan)
“After watching the 365give TEDx Talk, I was inspired to join and begin a daily giving program in India. Today, along with 12 other volunteer women, we provide 100 meals to local underprivileged children in Bangalore for school every day.”
Deepika Ahuja, Mom (Bangalore, India)
“My life has greater meaning now.”
Renate Jorge, @BeKindBrazil and 365give Member, Family Program (Brazil)
“I just wanted to share that 365give really helped me. I am a better person now, thank you.”
MayLee, 365give Member, Individual Program
“This 365give Challenge has really injected excitement and extra enthusiasm in each work day as I think about what we can do. It has motivated me and the students.”
Cristina Peters, School Counselor (New York City, USA)
“I have seen a huge shift in energy throughout my classroom since doing the 365give Challenge. The Challenge has empowered my students to make a positive difference in the school’s community and beyond.”
Cella Adriana, Special Needs Educator /The Holliswood School (New York City, USA)
“The 365give Challenge helps students understand their impact on others. It opens avenues for introducing and discussing global and local issues in classrooms. It is powerful to watch students of all ages think about how they can make a change in another person’s life with one small act.”
Jessica Hall, Primary Teacher, French Immersion at École Pauline Johnson (West Vancouver, Canada)