Find Your Volunteering Love Language with UKC
How do you like to show your love and appreciation to others? Are there certain activities that make you feel like you’re making a bigger impact? Maybe you derive satisfaction from giving the perfect gift to someone and seeing their face light up in excitement. Others might prefer showing appreciation through words of affirmation, a homemade meal, or even a warm hug. We call this concept the 5 Love Languages, and it’s long been used as a tool for people to find the ways they best show love. As defined by Dr. Gary Chapman, the big five are:
- Acts of service
- Words of affirmation
- Giving and receiving gifts
- Quality time
- Physical presence
Love in this sense doesn’t have to be romantic. Rather, it’s rooted in kindness and connection. You can show love to everyone in your life, whether it’s at home, work, or even to complete strangers.
Volunteers are well acquainted with this idea of neighborly love. However, any long-time volunteer will share that it can take awhile to find an opportunity that resonates with you. By discovering your volunteer love language, you can not only learn more about yourself, but also find how to make the biggest impact on your community based on the gifts you already have. By the end of this post, we hope to have given you some new ideas (or at least a new way of looking at the volunteering you already do).
1. acts of service
Those with this love language thrive on brightening people’s day by doing needed tasks. Where others might feel pressure providing crucial services, they flourish. If acts of services are your love language, you’d be right in home in almost any volunteering scenario.
Nonprofits rely on volunteers for many services, such as unloading and organizing donations, handing out food and other necessities to those who need them, and even administrative tasks on the computer. These positions will always be in demand; they are simple on the surface, but play a crucial role.
If you’re looking for some great opportunities in this realm, check out your local charity thrift store or food bank; chances are they need volunteers providing these services. Here are some other opportunities to consider:
- Give parents space to heal at Amethyst Place by watching their children while they learn in the program.
- Help make Kansas City more beautiful by joining in on KC Park’s weekly clean-ups.
- Join The Sewing Labs making fleece scarves and hats for houseless folk (or learn how!)
2. Words of Affirmation
If you always have a compliment or kind word ready for your peers, words of affirmation might be your love language. You also might also be the designated voice of reason to your loved ones, giving them the wisdom, encouragement, and validation they need in the moment.
These types of people do well in volunteer positions as mentors, coaches, and companions for individuals experiencing hardship. If you have a gift with words, there are many people who could use your support. Opportunities include becoming a youth mentor, being a volunteer receptionist, or sending heartfelt letters to U.S. troops.
Here are some volunteer ideas for anyone who shows love through words of affirmation:
- Go through the training to become a volunteer with the 988 Suicide & Crisis Hotline.
- Join Big Brothers Big Sisters as a “Big” to make a difference in a child’s life as a mentor figure.
- Write a handwritten letter for a care package delivered to a soldier or first responder through Operation Gratitude.
3. Quality time
For some the best act of love isn’t an elaborate gift or a difficult task, but simply another’s presence. If this sounds like you, quality time might be your love language. Quality time is often paired with words of affirmation, but the key difference between the two is that service opportunities with the latter often have the specific goal of mentoring, counseling, or tutoring the other person. Quality time, on the other hand, is just the simple gift of companionship.
Like we mentioned, many volunteering positions involving quality time will also likely involve the second love language on our list. Mentorship and coaching volunteer positions involve building long-time relationships with others in need of emotional connections and support. But if you purely want to volunteer quality time, there are also ways to do that! Here are a few to consider:
- Get involved with KC’s Senior Companion Program by providing friendship and care to disabled, homebound seniors.
- Provide children grieving the loss of a loved one fun activities and emotional support at Camp Erin.
4. Giving gifts
If you enjoy giving and receiving gifts, you might be drawn to a different type of volunteering; donating. Not everyone has the capability in their schedule to volunteer their time, making donating a great way to make a difference on your own time. While fiscal donations are always helpful for nonprofits, you can also donate other items. Necesitties like food, clothing, and other basics will always be in demand at places serving the houseless. If there’s a nonprofit you really love, considering checking their donation wish list and dropping off some donations. If you’re not sure where to start, here are a few more options for gift-givers:
- Make kids in low-income families feel celebrated on their birthday by helping shopping for and delivering gifts at Birthday Connections.
- During the winter months, blood donations are often in short supply to patients who need it most. Consider giving blood to Community Blood Center or your local blood donation center.
- Help fullfill basic needs for families at A Turning Point by donating food, clothing, hygiene products, and other items during open hours.
5. Physical presence
Sometimes the best expression of love is the comfort of someone else’s presence. Physical presence or touch is a bit trickier to ascribe to scenarios outside of close relationships, but there are still important volunteer roles where touch plays a big role.
Volunteers with this love language know that human touch is powerful. A warm touch soothes cardiovascular stress and can help reduce anxiety. Other than showing compassion to their peers through a handshake, hug, or pat on the back, there are many other ways that physical touch can make a huge impact. Here are just a few ways you can give a healing touch in the Kansas City area:
- Donate to the Kansas City Assistance League’s “Operation Hug” to help distribute stuffed cuddly companions for children and seniors in crisis.
- Cuddle NICU babies at Saint Luke’s Hospital, or find a similar program at another local medical center.
- Volunteer your time with KC Pet Project to give shelter pets much-needed care, including kennel cleaning, feeding, playing, and of course, lots of pets.
Uncover your next volunteer opportunity
We hope you found a few ideas in this post that resonated with you. If not, there are still hundreds of volunteer opportunities in Kansas City to explore. For even more ideas, check out our volunteer directory. You’ll find over 150 different organizations in need of volunteers!