Shun idleness. It is a rust that attaches itself to the most brilliant metals.
~Voltaire
The sheen, colour, and mood of your life changes when you cannot utilize your spare time well and boredom sets in. You are frazzled and depressed with the feeling that “you are just doing nothing”. Sudden changes in your life can unleash free time which may set in due to lifestyle change, retirement or career changes, children leaving home for school or college, end of certain family responsibilities, and so on. While you can explore various ways of utilizing your free time effectively, you can work on your passion or work with an NGO for a cause you believe in.
Indian Cancer Society (ICS), Bangalore offers one such platform where volunteers from different backgrounds can volunteer and contribute in whatever way and whenever they can. For the past several years ICS has been one of the forerunners in the mission to:
- create awareness that cancer is preventable and curable;
- facilitate early detection of Cervical, Breast and Oral cancer through screening camps across rural and urban Karnataka;
- offer emotional support and cancer counselling to cancer patients and their caregivers.
Camps in rural areas can be fun with short travels away from the city, experiencing rural life, people and food. Watch this video to have an idea about a typical day of a volunteer at a screening camp.
Volunteers have tightly packed schedule at the camps, but at the end of the day there is tremendous satisfaction to have spread awareness among the people and that at least some of them got detected for early signs of cancer. Camps are held both in rural and urban areas, over weekdays and weekends and you are welcome to sign up as per your availability and choice.
As ICS ramps up its activities to spread awareness, hold more screening camps and offer emotional support to patients and caregivers, it needs more dedicated volunteers on its team. Click on this link and set the ball rolling. Let volunteering connect you to others, rejuvenate your mind and body, and bring fun and fulfillment to your life.
You make a living by what you get. You make a life by what you give.
~Winston Churchill
Author:
Arpita Bhattacharjee,
ICS Volunteer
