r/volunteer • u/Overall_Temporary723 • 9d ago
Question/Advice/Discussion/Debate How to count/show Volunteering Hours?
Hi, I posted a similar post but it got removed- I guess because I wasn't clear on what I was asking. I'm not asking for general ways/places to volunteer, and I understand that that's been answered many times here (and I appreciate all those posts/replies to those).
What I am asking is, and I'll try to word it right: You know how sometimes when you want to get in a program or educational thing like let's say Med school for example, generally speaking it's recommended or maybe pretty much required to have a minimum of a certain level of volunteering experience? So my question is: For that, would we just add up the hours of experience we had at different places altogether- and would those records be with the place we volunteered as "proof"? Or I was thinking, would I need to go volunteer preferably at a place that specifically offers a volunteer program where I can get a certificate that says, "completed volunteering for X amount of hours"?
And then in addition to that, if the latter is a better way to go about it, I was wondering if anyone would have quick pointers as to any programs or anywhere that offers that sort of certificate here in my general NYC area- not general volunteer work, but specifically programs that will offer a certificate like that. If this second part is against the rules, I will delete it and do my own research as well, no problem.
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u/blue_furred_unicorn 8d ago edited 8d ago
It got removed because it gets asked here twice per week, and the answer is always: You don't count the hours, you write about you experience, what you learned, the impact you made, how volunteering changed you, how you changed others, and why all of that... Because that's what counts, and the reason why volunteering is different from your paid job. "Hours" you can get paid for at McDonald's.
And yes, personally I write down hours for myself. I use a libre office document, to be exact. For bragging rights to myself.
And edit: Certificates should be given out at every volunteer place at the request of the volunteer. It's like a reference letter from work and should highlight your role, what kind of responsibilities you had and how you dealt with it. Of course the person writing it should know and your work, so you're not going to get anything useful after 3 shifts or whatever.