The Wishes and Blessings Volunteering Community, Squad for Change, celebrated the milestone of turning 2!

Indeed, it is true that ‘Time flies when you are having fun. ‘Penning down my thoughts on Squad for Change is an overwhelming experience for me. It feels like yesterday when I joined Wishes and Blessings as a volunteer, and now I am writing this blog on the 2nd anniversary of SFC as a Programme Manager. My experience from a Volunteer to the Volunteer Coordinator to now, a Manager, has been nothing but a joyride, living the best time of my life through SFC.

Squad for Change, launched in March 2020, offers the chance to change makers from across the world to contribute towards a cause and bring about a positive change. At SFC, volunteers can participate in existing assignments or customize and execute their own ideas.

During its launch during the pandemic, SFC experienced its fair share of ups and downs. But since every beautiful thing has its own challenges, SFC over came these challenges with its main objective to make the volunteering experience exclusive with quality wherein volunteers learn, grow and connect. Within a short span of its existence, Squad For Change has established an unconventional space for itself in the volunteering world.

We have tried our level best to constantly redefine volunteering by creating space for new avenues and providing different opportunities. We have been personally involved with each volunteer at every stage of their volunteering journey, from recruitment to understanding their areas of interest, guiding them as per their skillset and convenience, and having them finally bring about a positive change.

At Squad for Change, we provide regular tasks and conduct weekly workshops, webinars etc. We have volunteers from all over the world from different backgrounds, age groups, and gender. I coordinate with them every day, and designing tasks and executing workshops and meetups is an enriching and thrilling experience for me. I learn new things from my volunteers every day and vice versa.
Let us look at some of the experiences that our volunteers have to share on their SFC journey:

Priesha Modern School

I started volunteering in May of 2021. I’ve always loved volunteering. I’ve helped many people, but volunteering is not only about helping. I learnt this from Squad For Change. It made a significant impact on my life. It made me see the positive aspects of my life. It also has many workshops which help you grow personally. 2020 and 2021 were some of the worst years for everyone. Everyone went through a lot, but many people experienced a positive side.

SFC made me see those positive sides. I’ve gained a lot from the SFC workshops. They made me confident about myself, helped me become a part of a committee of something that matters to people and helped me develop and build social skills. SFC improved my mental and physical health, helped me focus on what I want in life, which career I want to choose and basically helped me find myself. Today I can proudly say that I am a part of SFC, which matters a lot to me and everyone else.

Rakshita Sawani (Amity University)

I have worked with several NGOs to date, but what really stood out to me was the unconventional approach towards volunteering offered by Wishes and Blessings’ volunteering wing, Squad For Change. When one wishes and works towards giving back to the community, several techniques line up in one’s mind. Still, it never involves introducing a much-needed change within the individual. Volunteering with Squad For Change, in particular, introduced this personal change that will eventually lead to a cascade of social change that I believe society needs now more than ever.

Squad For Change made me more self-aware and self-introspect things that might have been overlooked in general. It made me more open as a person, ready to work towards any problem and step out of my comfort zone or safe space to try new things. It also made me question things around me that were overlooked before and made me acknowledge them with time.

Akshat Gupta (University of South Florida)

I always wanted to give back to the community and help people. When one of my friends told me about a volunteer opportunity with Squad for Change, I immediately applied as it was a golden chance for me to give back to the community and help people. Initially, I thought I would be working as a volunteer collecting funds, but I was amazed by the idea of self-development.

Very few NGOs focus on individual self-development and give importance to mental health. They have separate programs for underprivileged people but spreading awareness about the small day to day topics and making people realize their self-worth is what amazed me.

Karishma Surana (Kamala Nehru College)

I have been a part of the NSS unit in my college, where I was introduced to Squad for Change, the volunteer wing of Wishes and Blessings. Intrigued, I checked out their social media page and learned about the great work SFC was doing. It softened my heart to see how many lives they impacted by their thoughtful services.

My journey at SFC was mostly easy-going and enlightening, but just for a brief moment, I felt like I was not doing enough work to make a real difference in people’s lives. I felt like my efforts were too tiny and insignificant to make this huge world a better place. But when I saw the little impact I made and how through SFC, it turned into a collective effort that transformed so many lives, I, therefore, understood that the little steps are the most significant because they create a movement for a big change.

If you have a zeal to learn and bring about positive change, I believe Squad for Change is the right platform to explore new and amazing volunteering opportunities.

The Wishes and Blessings Volunteering Wing, Squad for Change, gives you several opportunities to participate in existing campaigns and the chance to execute your own unique ideas to aid those in need.
Not only do you get the chance to change the ground reality, you also get to fulfil CAS hours and get certificates! If you too want to be a part of something wholesome and selfless, sign up for this form: https://forms.gle/WB9dFkzebZzdicZR9

About the Author

Monika Phore is a Volunteer Coordinator for Squad For Change (SFC) at Wishes and Blessings. She has done her Masters in Political Science from Delhi University and Post Diploma Graduation in Human Rights from the Indian Institute respectively. Monika has also done a Certificate Course in Personal Counseling from St. Xavier’s, Mumbai. Monika is passionate about bringing positive change to society at large. She firmly believes that change comes from within!