By now, you know that Common Desk lives and breathes community. Every day, we’re thrilled by the opportunity to support the visions and goals of our members and provide daymaking hospitality. Our spaces are our realm of expertise and as we facilitate tours, prep conference rooms, help businesses move into office suites, and throw networking happy hours that aren’t easily forgotten, we refine the coworking magic that makes our spaces great. However, we’re also passionate about the neighborhoods and cities our blend of members represent and acknowledge that the areas surrounding our coworking destinations need support. At Common Desk, we believe hospitality and community goes far beyond the walls of our buildings and must flow into our places of rest, recreation, and beyond.
With that, we’re recognizing that April is National Volunteer Month! Globally observed, volunteers across the world are celebrated and honored for their tireless commitment to making their communities better through the contribution of their time, talent, and resources. From assisting the underprivileged to tending to the environment, volunteers occupy a crucial role in creating a better tomorrow for all. In the past, we’ve participated in service projects with non-profit organizations like Habitat for Humanity and have joined 5Ks for good causes in our downtown communities.
Many of our Common Desk members also run successful non-profit organizations and we’re honored to champion their missions inside our office spaces. Within National Volunteer Month is National Volunteer Week. Though it may be less known, National Volunteer Week was established in 1974 and is a week of high-volume service projects and volunteer opportunities in a host of arenas. From assisting at homeless shelters to remote tutoring online, there are countless ways to get involved and find somewhere that fits your unique interests, passions, and skillset to give back to those around you.
4 Reasons to volunteer
This year, Global Volunteer Week runs from April 21st to the 27th, so there’s time to start planning a project and opportunity of your own. Volunteering is not only deeply enriching and something everyone should consider doing, but also a great opportunity to boost your resume and expand your professional network. While we don’t seek to serve for personal gain, the fruit of giving ourselves, is usually that we’re encouraged, taught something new in the process, and often find rewards where we least expected them. So, why should you consider volunteering?
The break you didn’t know you need
We’re in April. It’s the 4th month of the year and by now, that fresh start feeling to 2024 has worn off and we’re all ingrained in our day-to-day responsibilities and habits. While that’s not a negative, it can be a one-track path to burnout if we’re not taking the time to find daily inspiration and keep our minds clutter-free. Volunteering is the perfect opportunity to take a reprieve from your normal routine and experience new people, circumstances, and ideas. Think of it as active rest. While everyone who exercises needs some days off, it’s still ideal to get in some form of movement daily for your well-being. Volunteering is just that for our minds and hearts. Consider a Saturday morning service hour before popping on the ol’ Netflix for a numb-out session. You may find it’s the breath of fresh air you need and a good shot of inspiration into your personal and professional life going forward.
New tools in the toolbox
Volunteering is a low-risk way to start adding new skills to your repertoire. Perhaps you’re interested in gardening, but you’ve never really been much of a green thumb, and starting on your own feels overwhelming. Many soup kitchens and community food banks have started garden centers to feed their communities and need help tending to the growing produce. Volunteering is the perfect way to wade into new skills and hobbies, fill a need, and learn from more experienced people. As you gain new skills in your volunteer roles, you never know how they may come back to assist you in your professional and personal life later on, not to mention, you may discover new activities and areas of passion in the process.
Boost your resume and work experience
A history of volunteering on your resume is a sure way to stand out as a professional. Volunteering demonstrates that you’ve taken the time and intention to not only seek out opportunities but also that you keep your word and uphold commitments. When we consent to volunteer, we display qualities and characteristics that many would-be employers hope for in their staff and show our colleagues that they can trust the substance and quality of our work. These days the job market is difficult and saturated in many industries. A season of volunteering may be precisely what your resume needs to plump up the work, knowledge, and experience you’ve already got under your belt and make you stand out among other candidates.
Meet game changers in your city
Service opportunities bring together people from all walks of life. Most of all, they gather those genuinely interested in helping others and bettering their communities. Who you surround yourself with is vital for determining long-term success, personal development, and happiness, so if you’ve been feeling uninspired or even dejected by your social or professional sphere, a volunteer opportunity may be the right outlet that connects you with individuals who can encourage and sharpen you, or drive you into the next chapter of your life.
Frankly, there’s nothing to lose and everything to gain by volunteering! In many cases, places of employment have allotted hours toward service projects and this year’s upcoming National Volunteer Week is a prime time to log some hour—getting a group of your colleagues together is a bonding and rewarding experience that encourages everybody. Take it from us! In the past, our Common Desk support staff in DFW has volunteered with Crossroads Community Services, our CD – Richardson location has organized a grounds clean up, and our North Carolina locations have spent the weekend at home development sites with Habitat for Humanity. Each time, we’ve walked out more grateful and invigorated to keep loving on and serving the communities we call home. This year, our Houston market is setting aside some time to volunteer with the local ASPCA in May. Stay tuned for pics of how it went!
Below, we’ve listed a few resources to help get you prepped for this year’s National Volunteer Week and shared the organizations Common Desk has partnered with in the past. Whether this April is the month you discover a passion for community service or perhaps you’re a recipient of volunteerism, we hope gratitude continues to bloom in each of us as we work, play, and rest in our neighborhoods and cities.
Resources and information
- Convoy of Hope: National Volunteer Month
Convoy of Hope is a faith-based nonprofit organization that developed after the founding family suffered a tragic loss and received care, compassion, and support from their local community in 1969. Since then, Convoy of Hope has grown to serve hungry, hurting, and impoverished people all over the globe and has scaled to support efforts like disaster relief, agriculture, community events, women’s empowerment, and rural initiatives. They partner with civic organizations, businesses, individuals, government agencies, churches, and more to give relief to those suffering in our local communities and worldwide.
- Points of Light: National Volunteer Week
Points of Light provides individuals and nonprofit/NGO organizations with the resources and education they need to continue spreading their missions across cities and neighborhoods. Partnering with corporations and families, Points of Lights helps set national standards for volunteerism and gives them empowering tools to carry out missions effectively, as well as honors their hard work and dedication. This June, Points of Light is holding a conference in Houston, Texas, one of our loved Common Desk markets, for civic and business leaders to help them make big impact in their spheres of influence. Here’s more information regarding the conference!
- Habitat for Humanity: Volunteer
Habitat for Humanity is one of the most well-known nonprofit organizations to date. Started by a farmer and preacher in 1969, Habitat for Humanity strives to provide one of humanity’s most foundational needs: Affordable shelter/housing. Working in more than 70 countries around the world, Habitat for Humanity provides home construction, neighborhood revitalization, care for the elderly desiring to stay in their homes, financial education and services, and more. By inviting volunteers to partner with them through their Restores or housing site builds, individuals and groups everywhere have countless opportunities to help Habitat for Humanity continue to put a roof over the heads of families everywhere.
- Crossroads Community Services: Volunteer
Crossroads has been serving Dallas for 22 years! What started as providing lunch at a local Methodist Church, grew into a city-wide support system for the food insecure in our beloved DFW. Having partnered with the North Texas Food Bank and distinguished themselves as a 501c3 organization to increase community support and reach, Crossroads cemented itself as a huge foundation of help for those needing an encouraging smile and life-giving resources. Now, Crossroads continues to distribute food for the hungry out of its in-house pantry and has upheld a rich legacy of providing for Dallas for years. While they’re predominantly a food bank, contributing to the fundamental needs of all, Crossroads has sent individuals through food-equity research, distribution partnerships, and more.
As always, if you’re looking to join a community of professionals who care about the cities they call home, stop by for a tour of one of our Common Desk spaces. See you there!
