My Volunteer Experience

Since National Volunteer Week has just passed and Sarnia Gives is about to wrap up ChangeTheWorld: Ontario Youth Volunteer Challenge, the past three weeks were the perfect time to find an opportunity to get involved within the community. Volunteering shouldn’t be a chore and if you find the right place to get involved you can have fun doing so. I decided that sharing my own experience my encourage someone else to get out and do something.  I am in a sport related program at Lambton College, my passions includes sports and so my volunteer experiences have included sport.

During my first two years of high school I completed 100+ hours of coaching indoor and outdoor soccer within my small community. I really enjoyed teaching kids from 8-12 years old the fundamentals of the game.  I also volunteered for the local fair, setting up and taking down exhibits and also helped organize the event. I had a great experience volunteering and I encourage everyone to get involved with something that you truly enjoy because, at the end of the day, the opportunity is for your own benefit.

Now that I am in college, networking has been incredibly important to me. During my first day of class in my first year I signed up to volunteer for the Sarnia Sting. My job is to prepare and implement promotional items during the home games. The amount of people I have met in the industry has been incredibly helpful and has assisted me in learning the ropes. So volunteering can also be an educational experience for you to help develop skills that can be valuable in the future.

Food for thought - my course coordinator at Lambton College told my class the very first day that "the most important thing you can do is get involved, volunteer and network".  I didn't waste any time and it has really helped me out.  I encourage you to find a position that you like.  National Volunteer Week and ChangeTheWorld offer lots of opportunities, but there are opportunities year round, so go out there and help the community today!


Mike Willigenburg, Coop Student

Sarnia Gives 

Lambton College Sports and Recreation Administration Student

Mike hard at work at the Local Immigration Partnership Community Forum.