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"The Ultimate Win-Win": Greg James on why you should think about Volunteering

Greg James visits Oxjam in Exeter

Greg asks Georgie about how volunteering with Oxjam has helped her to gain skills.

It's up to individuals to spread a bit of kindness

It’s hard to find any downsides to volunteering. Hang on, let me just double check. Hmmm… well, if you hate helping people, being kind, learning new skills, challenging yourself, broadening your mind, making new friends and making a real difference to other people’s lives then yeah, it’s a rubbish thing to do.

I see it as the ultimate win/win. And look, humans by our very nature have selfish tendencies from time to time and it's absolutely OK to be honest about this.

On a personal level, you will get a tremendous amount out of this. It could simply be a sense of achievement and satisfaction at making a difference to someone or a community. It could also be a great opportunity to learn some new skills in a field that you might be interested in. In short, who knows where it could take you and the adventures it could open up for you.

Greg volunteering at Barts Hospital Radio.

At a time when the world feels more divided and unsettled than it has done for a long time, surely it's up to individuals to spread a bit of kindness and prove that there are some good people left knocking around. Volunteering might feel like a small part of the jigsaw but think about the bigger picture, if you inspire one person to do it, that person then inspires someone else and so on.

And before you know it, you’ll have a Nobel Peace Prize. Well, maybe not that, but you’ll get a thank you at least.

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