Like many teens her age, 16-year-old Sahar Zandi Nia has a variety of interests.
And with her Grade 10 schoolwork, swimming, piano lessons and cross-country, Sahar is also quite busy. But she still finds time to volunteer and has been doing so since she was in Grade 8 when she first became aware of volunteering thanks to her teachers.
“I thought it was a fun way to spend my time,” she notes.
She has volunteereed at the West Vancouver recreation centre, aquatic centre and seniors centre for special events, and also at the West Vancouver Memorial Library, a place she already spent a lot of time at doing homework and reading.
Sahar has been volunteering at the library for about two years. She shelves books in the children’s section, makes sure the books on the shelves are organized properly, and participates in the Book Buddies program for which she reads to children and plays games with them. She is also a member of the library’s Teen Advisory Group, which Sahar says is “just a fun time to get together once a month.”
Volunteering has been a positive experience for Sahar, and she says it doesn’t ever feel like a chore. The work has been easy to learn and she has enjoyed making new friends and new connections. She isn’t bothered by the fact that she doesn’t get paid for volunteering, and says it doesn’t take up as much time as some people might think.
“I feel like I still have a lot of spare time,” she notes.
She predicts she may have to scale back on some of her volunteering as she gets busier at high school with homework, and school teams and clubs, but currently she is able to dedicate about two to four hours per week to volunteering at the library and at the West Vancouver recreation centre where she helps out at the pool, with birthday parties, and other small jobs.
“Definitely it’s worth it. If you work hard there’s always something in it for you,” she says, adding anyone can volunteer “if they set their mind to it, if they work hard.”
Sahar recommends volunteering somewhere you already like to spend time or think you might like to spend time so it will be more enjoyable.
”I’ve always loved the library experience,” she says, explaining it was somewhere she wanted to volunteer since she already enjoyed being there.
Her message to other teens thinking about volunteering is: “To anyone I say go for it. You’re going to meet some great people, you’re going to have some fun, you’re going to get some experience, and I’m sure it will all pay off in the end.”
This story originally appeared in the North Shore News Volunteer special section for Volunteer Week.
