Random Acts of Volunteering
Sometimes people find it difficult to commit a set time for volunteering. You can still get involved!HOW?
The easiest way to get involved in volunteering is to commit a ’Random Act of Volunteering’. A Random Act of Volunteering, or RAV, is a simple act that is done to benefit others. It doesn’t have to cost any money - it is simply an act of kindness. People of all ages can carry out a Random Act of Volunteering.
30 Random Acts of Volunteering
- Donate used clothes to a charity shop
- Pick up a piece of litter – or several!
- Donate blood
- Help someone who can’t reach something on a supermarket shelf
- Offer to share your umbrella with someone.
- Plant a tree or flower in your community
- Take a CPR class—it may come in use in the future!
- Offer a few hours of your time to babysit for busy parents
- Pack an extra lunch and give it to someone who needs it.
- Benefit your health as well as others by asking someone to join you for a walk
- Teach someone a skill that you know
- Conduct some stealth gardening in your area, ridding it of weeds
- Let someone in a hurry cut ahead of you in the queue
- Offer to help a neighbour: walk their dog or clean their brasses
- Give your coat to someone who doesn’t have one
- Donate canned food to a local food bank
- Offer to accompany a friend or neighbour to see a doctor
- Gather old mobile phones and donate them to a charity – why not ask friends or colleagues to do the same?
- Offer to give a lift to someone who needs it
- Stand up on the dart, bus or luas to leave your seat available for others
- Tell someone about a charity or cause you think is worth knowing about
- Make a cup of tea for someone working on your road
- Donate old toys to a children’s shelter
- Give a care package to a homeless person
- Call into a charity or charity shop in your area and ask if there’s anything they’d like you to help them with
- Pass on the Senior Help Line number to someone who might need it
- Call an animal shelter and donate an item that’s in need
- If you aren’t interested in a coupon, give it to the sales clerk to give to someone who is
- Offer to take a photograph for a group of tourists
- Tell someone about a random act of volunteering and encourage them to pass it on!
My name is Emily, I am a volunteer with South Dublin County Volunteer Centre and I have volunteered with them for ten years. I began volunteering when I was training with Cheeverstown. They arranged for me to visit the Tallaght Volunteer Bureau and I think I was the first volunteer placed there. Back then I worked with Tricia the manager, and Denise in a small office over the Citizen’s Information Centre in Tallaght Village. There have been many changes since I started. The Centre has moved premises twice, changed its name to South Dublin County Volunteer Centre and also become very busy with many new people looking to volunteer.
Here are the full contact details for each Volunteer Centre in each area of Dublin.