Volunteerism Builds Character

I’m Diane Sophia Tan. I’m 22 years old. My full time work is VP of Marketing and Sales at Dreamlist. My Part time work is being a volunteer on call at Benita and Catalino Yap Foundation and on Jacinto & Lirio.

What motivated you to volunteer? Why did you volunteer?

I just followed my heart really. Volunteering was not something I did regularly throughout the course of my life. There was a time when all I cared about was my own improvement, but it always left a gaping hole inside me. There was always something missing.

A series of challenges in college led me to explore volunteerism. I am unable to enumerate all the things I did, some of them don’t even remember. I’m just happy to have done them. It was in small things at first. I started helping out some classmates who were left behind without expecting anything in return.

I volunteered my time to the Business Management Society even if was not in my job description as an officer in the org. I joined philanthropic activities whenever I can. After these things happened to me I realized that the gaping hole from before started to shrink, so I must be going the right way. Falling in love with social entrepreneurship is the peak of my story, but a few years before graduating, I didn’t know where to start. God brought me to BCYF for this, where I was taught to go beyond my work as project coordinator of the CSR Research Institute. Although doing this work was already helping society in some way, the fact that I had personal gains here does not qualify it as volunteerism. So again, I cannot enumerate what I have volunteered to do, as most of them I have already forgotten, but I hope I made a difference to the people I tried to help.

My next adventure was with Jacinto & Lirio. At first I was an employee, but as I venture further into my own journey as an entrepreneur, I will never forget the people met in J&L. I still volunteer for small things they need help with. And I’ll always be open to helping them whenever I can.

I learned that real volunteerism is not just about feeding your heart. Taking it seriously is a lifelong commitment that entails sacrifices that you’re willing to make on a personal level. I learned that so many people want to do good, but are afraid to take this sacrifice seriously. It was through this realization that I learned my own weakness. Until today I cannot say I’ve totally overcome it, but I will never stop trying.

What is your message to those people who would also like to volunteer?

Open your heart; let God in. He will tell you how to go about volunteering. I believe that volunteerism is God’s way of bringing us closer to Him. Sometimes, volunteering helps you more than the people you’re helping. This is because volunteerism builds character. It reveals to you how much you’re willing to sacrifice for things that have no gain to you. That, in turn, reveals what kind of person you are.

Disclaimer: The author of this story permitted us to post this online.