Rashmir Balasubramaniam in the UK
In this new blog series, I’d like to ask four questions to people from different countries, backgrounds, professions, and genders who have all one thing in common: volunteering. I hope you’ll get inspired by their journeys and take the leap into volunteering.
Notice: The positions, views and information contained published here are those of the interviewee and do not necessarily represent my views or opinions.
Rashmir Balasubramaniam is a Strategic Advisor and Executive Coach to current and emerging leaders of social and systems change.
With over 25 years experience working across industries, from investment banking to global health & development, and across countries such as East Africa, India, the US and the UK, Rashmir has a demonstrated ability to build trust with diverse cultural and multidisciplinary groups and enable them to achieve a higher level of performance and creative flow.
Rashmir helds a Yale MBA, numerous other qualifications and certifications, and has worked at organisations as large and catalytic as the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to small, out of the box startups, including her own social enterprise startup in 2014 that sought to address the brain drain in nursing by harnessing the global movement of nurses combined with a modular educational and certification approach.
She is also the Founder of the recently launched Contemplative Edge Community, which is a place to slow down, go within with others, and bring a contemplative edge to everything we do
How did you begin to volunteer?
I think I was born with a volunteering and service orientation or had it bred into me from an early age. My mother was always helping people and regularly volunteered for a variety of things. I don't remember when I first volunteered myself as I would occasionally help my mother out with various activities she was involved in, though I am sure I didn’t have much choice then. I volunteered for various activities at school and university - including captaining a college society, which is a great way to develop leadership skills. I intentionally chose to spend a year off after university volunteering overseas. This included teaching and helping out at a small school in India, working with a French community organisation in London and France, and helping out at a church creche for very poor working women and simultaneously at the Red Cross in Sri Lanka. These were all powerful experiences for me that enabled me to make a difference, gave me an opportunity to travel and learn about the places I was visiting with an insider perspective. It also helped my parents not stress so much about my taking time out or worry about where I was. I learned a lot about myself through those early volunteer experiences, and still occasionally reflect back on that time.
Why did you continue volunteering?
It's part of my DNA. I give back locally through volunteering and by supporting organisations or causes I care about. It is a great way to meet new people, connect with others, gain skills and experiences, and learn about things and places. Sometimes I do it just because I can and it seems right, but mostly I look for volunteering opportunities that I would enjoy.
How has volunteering helped you in your career?
When I was younger and earlier in my career, volunteering was a great way to gain experiences and insights into organisations or sectors that were important to me. For example, I took on a role as a Trustee of a small non-profit in my early 20s. They needed my finance skills and I was eager to experience a trustee role. In addition to helping the organisation, I got to know some interesting people, learned a lot about the organisation and local volunteering sector, and had something really interesting to put on my CV that demonstrated my interest in the nonprofit space while I was working in the private sector and this supported my move into the nonprofit and philanthropic sector.
A later example is when I joined a regional nonprofit board that was working on sustainability, an issue I wanted to learn more about. The role introduced me to many people in the region that I might not otherwise have met. They asked me to lead a diversity initiative many years before the current interest in DEI, which was a challenging and valuable experience for me. And they subsequently asked me to take on the role of Board Chair at one point, which would have been a great experience had I been in a position to give them more time. It would have positioned me for other such roles.
Would you encourage other people to take up volunteering, and if so, why?
Absolutely! Volunteering has great personal, professional and societal value and is something everyone should do regardless of age, title or position. It builds confidence and capabilities. It enables us to learn more about ourselves while giving back and making a difference. Through it we build connection and can ensure our lives are full of meaning, learning and joy.
In addition, the pandemic has encouraged more people to consider what is essential, and shone a light on communities as an important support structure for people and an essential lever in healing and evolving our planet so that it supports all life. To that end, it is clear that volunteering, and especially local volunteering really matters.
