Guest Blogger: This week's Featured Seahawk, Tyler Wittkofsky, CSB Alumnus '15 and current Professional MBA student.
Life's greatest passion and most rewarding task is one's ability to give to their community and make an impact. My community is one that I grew up in, one that my family has been a part of for generations, and one that has given so much to me. Other people may not have that connection to the community they currently serve, but the community is one that gives to you. So why should you give back to your community? Here are my top three reasons:
It’s the Right Thing to Do.
Believe me when I say giving back makes you feel good. Knowing that you have made an impact on something, an impact that could leave a lasting impression on the community, makes even the grinchiest of grinches hearts grow ten times. In our business classes, we often learn about ethics and morals: what is morally right?
Learn New Skills and Make New Connections
Maybe you are an expert in economics, but are you an expert in public relations? Maybe you are an expert in finance, but are you an expert in law? Volunteering your time and giving back to the community can help you grow your skill set and help you to make new connections that can serve as a valuable resource in the future. I sit on the Board of Directors for the North Brunswick Chamber of Commerce and Communities in Schools of Brunswick County and at our meetings, we always review the finances of the organization. Coming onto the Board initially, I hardly understood what was on those sheets. Connecting with other members on the Boards and the finance officers of the organizations, I have really honed my ability to read financial statements and understand them.
Gain a New Perspective on Life
Can you pay your bills, put gas in your car, and food in your mouth? You’re lucky if you can, there are many people in our community who must choose one of those three things or cannot do any of them. Volunteering and giving back to the community opens your eyes to the world around us. It can even give you hope and strength when you are going on. I volunteer as a coach for local tee-ball teams and have seen children who live rough lives, but continue to smile and laugh, hanging in there and pushing forward when the odds are against them. It is encouraging.
Ultimately, we all have our own reasons for wanting to give back to the community. I have always lived by the motto, “If I can make one person smile or laugh a day, I have done something good with my life." Sometimes we want to give back and volunteer, but we just are not in the situation where we can, and that is okay, too. Humans have an innate nature to help others - we just have to tap into it.
