Red Cross volunteer helps out in New Jersey. (Photo: FEMA)
Co-Author Nancy Bearg illuminates the joys of volunteering in her new article, “Helping Out in Times of Crisis” on the Frontline Security website. Nancy highlights Rita’s story of taking time off from work specically to volunteer in a deeper way:
“Though I contributed financially to several non-profit organizations and was on the board of one, I started to crave spending more time on work that seemed so important to me. When my company announced that it was moving its headquarters to another part of the country, it was the perfect time to take a sabbatical. I immersed myself in microfinance… I was soon asked to become chair of Pro Mujer, a non-profit organization that gives $170 loans and business training to women in Latin America whose families earn under $2 a day… Since I wasn’t working at an 8-6 (or 24/7) job, I had time to travel to meet the women in the programs in Bolivia, Nicaragua, Peru, and Mexico, and to help start a program in Argentina. My life is so enriched by all the amazing South American women I met on that sabbatical.”
Nancy also reminds us that the fact that many companies give paid corporate sabbaticals to employees who want to give back, and that even if there is no formal program, you may still find your own company receptive to paying them for such a sabbatical.
Read the full article here and then ask your own company about paid volunteering Reboot Breaks!