Kevin Rands, Head of Fixed Income and Investment Risk Technology at T.  Rowe Price, first volunteered with T. Rowe Price in the second week he joined the firm. Kevin tells us about how many opportunities for personal and professional development can be found in volunteering, and  feeling of achievement that he enjoys.

Why do you volunteer?
First and foremost, I find the various volunteering opportunities hugely rewarding. Genuinely making a difference in the lives of people from local community who might not have had the same opportunities as yourself is very motivating. Having worked in narrow fields such as technology and finance for nearly 25 years, volunteering helps me gain additional insights that help me be a better leader.

Technology and financial services firms need to continue to improve their employee diversity, and I like to think that volunteering is one of the direct things I can do to help this over the long term. Several events I’m involved in have focused on technology and programming for young people, to try and engage the audience early.

What have you gained from your volunteering experience?
Volunteering is a great way to meet new people and network, and that can help you personally as well as professionally. I volunteered for my first event at T. Rowe Price in the second week I joined the firm and found it an amazing way to meet colleagues that I might not have met for months in my day-to-day job. Those early contacts still help me today.

Obviously, volunteering is also a great way to help other people who don’t have the same opportunities as yourself. ELBA has helped connect us to a varied range of schools and events  in the past five years I’ve been at T. Rowe Price. Some of those have been business-oriented, allowing us to use our professional technology skills to support the community. Others have been more environmental and community based.

Would you recommend volunteering to a colleague and, if so, why?
In short, yes! If the clear impact you can have to others isn’t enough, the personal development you can achieve should be a wake-up call for anyone wanting to improve themselves professionally. Some events require a big investment of time from organisers –organisations like ELBA really help with that – but the more volunteers who genuinely want to help means so much more is possible. Getting involved and stepping up to lead, or help lead, an event can give you quite a feeling of achievement when it all goes off well on the day!