Tayyaba Shahzad has been volunteering for the last decade to give back to local communities, and she believes the process of giving not only helps others but also helps yourself.

Tayyaba Shahzad is a graduate of the University of Toronto’s political science and criminology programs and has been spending her free time helping local communities for the last decade. She started because she wanted to do more than just go to classes and go home, says the 29-year-old Mississauga resident. Volunteering has helped Shahzad gain valuable work experience by working with different kinds of people and learning useful skills.

Shahzad is one of the founders of Weaving Threads, a group in Toronto that connects young people through art. She also volunteers with a wellness group called Love & Help Heal. Most of Shahzad’s jobs came from the connections she made while volunteering. She found it so rewarding that she left her full-time job to focus on community work. Now, she works at Apathy Is Boring, an organization that helps teach youth about politics, where she leads a team of 12 young volunteers. In 2024, over 68,000 people in Toronto volunteered their time, adding up to 1.85 million hours of community service, according to Volunteer Toronto.

For Shahzad, helping others helps her feel better, as it gives her some control over the worry and stress she feels about the world. She says the positive energy from people coming together is contagious and keeps her motivated. Shahzad believes that by getting involved, she can inspire others to do the same, and she encourages everyone to volunteer.

Source: Spiro Papuckoski, Toronto Sun