5 Easy Ways to Spot a Volunteer Organization while you are in India

Are you working or studying in India? Do you want to volunteer in the country? Whether you are working or studying in India, you can indulge in volunteering activities in the host country. But, mark my words; you need to do some serious research. Yes, you have been in the country for sometime and you know which bus travels to which route. But, do you know where to find a volunteer organization?

There are two ways to volunteer in India.

• You can start volunteering while you are working or studying.
• You can also volunteer after your course or your project is over.

If you choose the first option, you get the opportunity to engage with the host community. While you can realize your volunteering dreams, you can learn about the culture of the country. If you choose the second option, you can gather knowledge while staying in India and use it in volunteering. By the time your project or course ends, you will have made many friends, known many places and learnt the local language.

You might be staying in India for a month now. But, unless you speak the local language and make acquaintances; learning about a volunteer organization can be quite a big deal. Many of my friends have tried to find out volunteer organizations from the Internet. But, Google may not display a volunteer organization in your city and you may have to travel to a different city for volunteering.

Let me help you out with the ideas that worked for me.

# Make new friends

If you are working for a company, you must talk to your colleagues. Make them your friends, invite them to your home, get yourself invited and visit places with them. Making friends is essential because you need to convince your colleagues that you have a perfectly honest motive. Once, your colleagues realize that you indeed want to help the needy; they can easily tell you about organizations looking for volunteers.

When I had told a colleague about my keen interest to participate in India volunteering, she told me about a friend who is looking for volunteer teachers. This was the beginning of my volunteering days in India.

# Attend events

Attend parties organized by your company. You can make more acquaintances and discuss with them about your eagerness to volunteer.

Do you have a hobby? Meet people with common interests. I like playing guitar. I joined a guitar playing club. I used to perform with my fellow guitarists at parties and events. Once, I performed for a club that was organizing an event for poor children. I got my opportunity and volunteered for the organization till I left for my home country.

You must have attended programs where celebrities perform. These programs often sponsor charitable organizations. You can contact with the management of these organizations and offer to volunteer.

# Speak to the representatives of the university with which you are associated

You can request the professor under whose tutelage you are studying to inform you about volunteer organizations. Several students visit India every year to study. Students who had enrolled for the same course in your university must have wanted to volunteer. Thus, your professor is not going to get surprised, if you ask him or her about volunteer organizations. In fact, he or she may be able to assist you with names and contact information of some organizations.

# Search on your own

On my second visit to India, I was accompanied by a colleague. Both of us wanted to volunteer in the country. This time, my job was not tying me to the office. Instead, I had to travel from one city to another. This helped in fuelling my urge to volunteer travel in India.

The two of us searched on the Internet for volunteer organizations in different cities of India. Once, we had our list of organizations ready, we packed our bags for an office work-cum-volunteering expedition. When we finished our work for the day, we ventured out to search for the organizations we had noted down from the Internet.

Our search brought us to some volunteer organizations which were in desperate need for extra hands.

# Visit the organizations’ offices and speak to the management personnel

Visiting the offices in person is more effective than sending e-mails. Not only can you identify the need of the organization but you can also assess, if the organization is authentic. The organization’s members are also impressed by your keenness to volunteer.

Do you think these ideas can help you volunteer while you are in India? Do you have any other idea up your sleeve? Let us know what is going on in your mind. Till then, make friends, make queries and enjoy volunteering in India.

Author Bio:

 I am Carol Griffin and I love to help as a volunteer. In my free times I like to write posts on volunteering opportunities in India, gap year programs, child education and teaching English.