Volunteering and its
Surprising Benefits
Helping
Yourself While Helping Others
Source: helpguide.org With busy lives, it can be hard to find time to volunteer. However, the benefits of volunteering are enormous to you, your family, and your community. The right match can help you find friends, reach out to the community, learn new skills, and even advance your career. Volunteering can also help protect your mental and physical health. Learn more about the many benefits of volunteering and find tips on getting started as a volunteer.
Benefits of volunteering #1: Volunteering connects you to others
One of the better-known
benefits of volunteering is the impact on the community. Unpaid volunteers are
often the glue that holds a community together. Volunteering allows you to
connect to your community and make it a better place. However, volunteering is
a two-way street, and it can benefit you and your family as much as the cause
you choose to help. Dedicating your time as a volunteer helps you make new
friends, expand your network, and boost your social skills.
Volunteering helps you make new friends and contacts
One of the best ways to make
new friends and strengthen existing relationships is to commit to a shared
activity together. Volunteering is a great way to meet new people, especially
if you are new to an area. Volunteering also strengthens your ties to the
community and broadens your support network, exposing you to people with common
interests, neighborhood resources, and fun and fulfilling activities.
Volunteering increases your social and relationship skills
While some people are naturally
outgoing, others are shy and have a hard time meeting new people. Volunteering
gives you the opportunity to practice and develop your social skills, since you
are meeting regularly with a group of people with common interests. Once you
have momentum, it’s easier to branch out and make more friends and contacts.
Volunteering as a family
While it might be a challenge
to coordinate everyone’s schedules, volunteering as a family has many worthwhile
benefits. Children watch everything you do. By giving back to the community,
you show them firsthand how volunteering makes a difference and how good it
feels to help others and enact change. It’s also a valuable way for you to get
to know organizations in the community and find resources and activities for
your children and family.
Volunteering provides many
benefits to both mental and physical health.
§ Volunteering
increases self-confidence. Volunteering
can provide a healthy boost to your self-confidence, self-esteem, and life
satisfaction. You are doing good for others and the community, which provides a
natural sense of accomplishment. Your role as a volunteer can also give you a
sense of pride and identity. And the better you feel about yourself, the more
likely you are to have a positive view of your life and future goals.
§ Volunteering
combats depression. Reducing
the risk of depression is another important benefit of volunteering. A key risk
factor for depression is social isolation. Volunteering keeps you in regular
contact with others and helps you develop a solid support system, which in turn
protects you against stress and depression when you’re going through challenging
times.
§ Volunteering
helps you stay physically healthy. Volunteering is good for your health at any age, but it’s
especially beneficial in older adults. Studies have found that those who
volunteer have a lower mortality rate than those who do not, even when
considering factors like the health of the participants. Volunteering has also
been shown to lessen symptoms of chronic pain or heart disease.
I have limited mobility—can I still volunteer?
Whether due to a lack of
transportation, time constraints, a disability or other reasons, many people
prefer to volunteer via phone or computer. There are many projects where you
can help. Writing and graphic design lends itself to working at home, and in
today’s digital age many organizations might also need help with email and
websites.
If you think home-based
volunteering might be right for you, contact organizations you like and ask
what some of the possibilities might be. Some volunteer organizations may
require you to attend an initial training or periodical meetings. You also want
to make sure that you are getting enough social contact, and that the
organization is available to support you should you have questions.
Volunteering: The happiness effect
Helping others kindles
happiness, as many studies have demonstrated. When researchers at the London
School of Economics examined the relationship between volunteering and measures
of happiness in a large group of American adults, they found the more people
volunteered, the happier they were, according to a study in Social Science and
Medicine. Compared with people who never volunteered, the odds of being “very
happy” rose 7% among those who volunteer monthly and 12% for people who
volunteer every two to four weeks. Among weekly volunteers, 16% felt very happy—a
hike in happiness comparable to having an income of $75,000–$100,000 versus
$20,000, say the researchers. Giving time to religious organizations had the
greatest impact.
Benefits of volunteering #3: Volunteering can advance your career
If you’re considering a new
career, volunteering can help you get experience in your area of interest and
meet people in the field. Even if you’re not planning on changing careers,
volunteering gives you the opportunity to practice important skills used in the
workplace, such as teamwork, communication, problem solving, project planning,
task management, and organization. You might feel more comfortable stretching
your wings at work once you’ve honed these skills in a volunteer position
first.
Volunteering can provide career experience
Volunteering offers you the
chance to try out a new career without making a long-term commitment. It is
also a great way to gain experience in a new field. In some fields, you can
volunteer directly at an organization that does the kind of work you’re
interested in. For example, if you’re interested in nursing, you could
volunteer at a hospital or a nursing home. Your volunteer work might also
expose you to professional organizations or internships that could be of
benefit to your career.
Volunteering can teach you valuable job skills
Just because volunteer work is
unpaid does not mean the skills you learn are basic. Many volunteering
opportunities provide extensive training. For example, you could become an
experienced crisis counselor while volunteering for a women’s shelter or a
knowledgeable art historian while donating your time as a museum docent.
Volunteering can also help you
build upon skills you already have and use them to benefit the greater
community. For instance, if you hold a successful sales position, you raise
awareness for your favorite cause as a volunteer advocate, while further
developing and improving your public speaking, communication, and marketing
skills.
Benefits of volunteering #4: Volunteering brings fun and fulfillment to your life
Volunteering is a fun and easy
way to explore your interests and passions. Doing volunteer work you find
meaningful and interesting can be a relaxing, energizing escape from your
day-to-day routine of work, school, or family commitments. Volunteering also
provides you with renewed creativity, motivation, and vision that can carry
over into your personal and professional life.
Many people volunteer in order
to make time for hobbies outside of work as well. For instance, if you have a
desk job and long to spend time outdoors, you might consider volunteering to
help plant a community garden, lead local hikes, or help at a children’s camp.
Consider your goals and interests
You will have a richer and more
enjoyable volunteering experience if you first take some time to identify your
goals and interests. Start by thinking about why you want to volunteer. Also
think about what you would enjoy doing. Volunteer opportunities that match both
your goals and your interests are most likely to be fun and fulfilling for you.
Tips for Getting Started Volunteering
First, ask yourself if there is something specific you want to
do.
For example, do I want…
…to make it better around where I live
…to meet people who are different from me
…to try something new
…to do something with my spare time
…to see a different way of life and new places
…to have a go at the type of work I might want to do as a full-time job
…to do more with my interests and hobbies
…to do something I’m good at
…to make it better around where I live
…to meet people who are different from me
…to try something new
…to do something with my spare time
…to see a different way of life and new places
…to have a go at the type of work I might want to do as a full-time job
…to do more with my interests and hobbies
…to do something I’m good at
The best way to volunteer is to match your personality and
interests. Having answers to these questions will help you narrow down your
search.
How to find the right volunteer opportunity
There are numerous
volunteer opportunities available. The key is to find a volunteer position that
you would enjoy and are capable of doing. It’s also important to make sure that
your commitment matches the organization’s needs. The following questions can
help you narrow your options:
§ Would you
like to work with people or would you rather work in solitude?
§ Do you
prefer to work alone or as part of a team?
§ Are you
better behind the scenes or do you prefer to take a more visible role?
§ How much
time are you willing to commit?
§ How much
responsibility are you ready to take on?
§ What
skills can you bring a volunteer job?
§ What
causes are important to you?
Where do I find volunteer opportunities?
§ Community
theaters, museums, and monuments
§ Libraries
or senior centers
§ Service
organizations such as Lions club or Rotary clubs
§ Youth
organizations, sports teams, and after-school programs
§ Historical
restorations and national parks
§ Places
of worship such as churches or synagogues
§ Online
databases such as those contained in Resources section below
Getting the most out of volunteering
You’re donating your
valuable time, so it’s important that you enjoy and benefit from your
volunteering. It’s important to make sure that your volunteer position is a
good fit and to communicate with the people you’re working with in the
volunteer organization.
§ Ask
questions. You want to make sure that the experience is right for your
skills, your goals, and the time you want to spend. If you have any questions,
be sure to speak up. Sample questions to your volunteer coordinator might
address your time commitment, if there’s any training involved, who you will be
working with, and what to do if you have questions during your experience.
§ Make sure
you know what’s expected. Before starting, make sure you are
comfortable with the organization, know what is expected, and understand the
time commitment. Consider starting small so that you don’t over commit yourself
at first. Give yourself some flexibility to change your focus if needed.
§ Don’t be
afraid to make a change. Speak up if your experience isn’t what you
expected. Don’t force yourself into a bad fit. Talk to the organization about
changing your focus or consider looking for another match.
§ Enjoy
yourself. Most importantly, make sure you’re having fun! The best
volunteer experiences benefit both the volunteer and the organization. If you’re
not enjoying yourself, ask yourself why. Is it the tasks you’re performing? The
people you’re working with? Or are you uncomfortable simply because the
situation is new and familiar? Pinpointing what’s bothering you can help you
decide how to proceed.