Volunteering and Its Benefits

Why should we volunteer? It can be difficult to find time to volunteer in our busy lives. However, the benefits of volunteering can be enormous. Volunteering helps people in need, benefits society, and promotes meaningful issues. The benefits you reap as a volunteer can be great because volunteering in the right place can help you find friends, connect with the community, learn new skills, and even advance your career.

Giving to others can help protect your mental health, as well as your physical one. It may reduce stress, fight depression, stimulate you mentally, and give you a sense of purpose in your life.

It is true that the more you volunteer, the more benefits you will get, but volunteering does not have to involve a long-term commitment or take a lot of time out of your busy day. Giving can help those in need, albeit in simple ways, and improve your health and happiness.

The benefits of volunteering:

Here are four ways to make you feel healthier and happier:

• Volunteering connects you with others.
• Volunteering benefits your mind and body.
• Volunteering can improve your career.
• Volunteering brings joy and satisfaction to your life.

Now let's talk about each benefit separately:

1. Volunteering connects you with others:

One of its most well-known benefits is the impact that volunteering has on society. Volunteering allows you to connect with your community and make it a better place, and helping out with even the smallest tasks can make a real difference to the lives of people, animals, and organizations in need.

Volunteering is a two-way street. It can benefit you and your family as much as the issue you choose to campaign for, and dedicating your time as a volunteer helps you make new friends, expand your network, and enhance your social skills.

2. Make new friends and relationships:

Commitment to a joint activity with others is one of the best ways to make new friends and strengthen existing relationships because volunteering is a great way to meet new people, especially if you have recently resided in an area. Volunteering strengthens your ties to the community, expands your support network, and helps you meet people with common interests.

3. Increase your social and communication skills:

While some people are naturally social, others are shy and have difficulty in meeting new people. Volunteering gives you the opportunity to practice and develop your social skills because you're constantly meeting with a group of people who have common interests. And once you get started, it's easy to make more friends and build relationships.

4. Volunteering with the family:

Kids watch everything you do. So, by giving back to the community, you'll show your kids how volunteering makes a difference, and the good feeling it gives us to help other people and animals and to make a change. It's a valuable way to learn about organizations in the community and find resources and activities for your kids and family.

Volunteering benefits your mind and body:

Volunteering provides several benefits for mental and physical health through the following:

Volunteering helps to get rid of the effects of stress, anger, and anxiety.

The connection and social interaction that results from working with and helping others can have a profound effect on your overall mental health. Nothing relieves stress more than meaningful connection with another person. Working with pets and other animals has also been shown to improve mood and reduce stress and anxiety.

1. Volunteering fights depression:

Volunteering keeps you in touch with others and helps you develop a strong, well-established support system, which in turn protects you from depression.

2. Volunteering makes you happy:

After measuring hormones and brain activity, researchers discovered that helping others provides immense pleasure. Humans are inclined to give to others, so the more we give, the happier we feel.

3. Volunteering increases self-confidence:

Doing good for others and society provides you with a natural sense of accomplishment, and your role as a volunteer can give you a sense of pride too. The better you feel about yourself, the more likely you are to have a positive view of your life and future goals.

4. Volunteering provides a sense of meaning:

Older adults, especially those who have retired or lost a spouse, can find new meaning and direction in their lives through the help of others. Whatever your age or life situation is, volunteering can help take your worries off your mind, keep you mentally stimulated, and add more fun to your life.

5. Volunteering helps you stay healthy:

Studies have found that people who volunteer have a lower mortality rate than those who do not engage in these activities, and that older volunteers who prefer walking find that dealing with daily tasks becomes easier, and they are less likely to develop high blood pressure, and they have better thinking skills. Volunteering can reduce symptoms of chronic pain, and reduce the risk of heart disease as well.

But what if someone has limited mobility, can they still volunteer?

People with special needs or chronic health conditions can benefit from volunteering. Research has shown that adults with special needs or health conditions ranging from hearing and vision loss to heart disease, diabetes and digestive disorders all show improvement after volunteering.

Whether due to a disability, lack of transportation, or lack of time, most people choose to volunteer with their smartphone or PC. In our digital age, most organizations need help with writing, graphic design, email, and other web-based tasks.

Some organizations may require you to attend an initial training session or regular meetings, while others may conduct all of these remotely. In any volunteer situation, make sure you have enough social contact and that the organization is available to support you if you have any questions.

Volunteering can improve your career:

If you are thinking of taking up a new profession, volunteering can help you gain experience in your field of interest, and meet people in this field even if you are not planning to change your job, as volunteering gives you the opportunity to practice important skills that benefit you in the workplace, such as teamwork, communication, problem-solving, project planning, task management, and organization. Once these volunteer skills are honed, you will feel very comfortable expanding the activities you do at work.

1. Volunteering teaches you valuable job skills:

The skills we learn from volunteering are not silly simply because the activity is unpaid. Most volunteer opportunities provide extensive training. For example, you could become an experienced crisis counselor while volunteering at a women's shelter, or a knowledgeable art historian while donating your time to work as a guide for tourists in a museum.

Volunteering can help you develop the skills you already have and use them for the benefit of the large community around you. If you're in a successful sales position, you can raise awareness of your issue by volunteering as an advocate while developing and improving your public speaking, communication, and marketing skills.

2. Gaining professional experience:

Volunteering provides you with an opportunity to try a new career without being bound by a long-term commitment. It is a great way to gain experience in a new field. In some areas, you can volunteer directly at an organization that does the type of work you have an interest in. If you are interested in nursing, for example, you can volunteer in a hospital or nursing home.

Your volunteer work may introduce you to professional organizations or internship opportunities that could benefit your career.

The only two things volunteering requires are passion and positivity:

While learning new skills can be beneficial to many, it is not a requirement for a satisfying volunteer experience. Keep in mind that the most valuable quality you can bring to any volunteer effort is empathy, an open mind, a willingness to give help when needed, and a positive attitude.

Volunteering brings joy and satisfaction to your life:

Volunteering is a fun and easy way to explore your interests and passions. Doing volunteer work that you find useful and enjoyable can be a relaxing escape from the daily routine of work, school, or family obligations. Volunteering provides you with renewed creativity, motivation, and perception that can carry on with you into your personal and professional life.

Most people volunteer to make time for hobbies outside of work as well. For example, if you have a desk job and crave time outdoors, volunteering to help plant a garden, take care of pets, or help out with a children's camp might be a way to do that.

How to find the right volunteer opportunity?

There are many volunteer opportunities available, but the main key is to find a task that is interesting to you, and at the same time be able to do it. It is also important to ensure that your commitment matches the needs of the organization. So, you have to ask yourself the following:

1. Do you want to work with adults, children, animals, or remotely from home?
2. Do you prefer to work alone or as a part of a team?
3. Are you better at working behind the scenes or do you prefer a more visible role?
4. How much time can you commit to?
5. What skills can you offer for volunteer work?
6. What are the issues that interest you? 

Consider your goals and interests:

You will have a richer and more enjoyable volunteer experience if you primarily take some time to define your goals and interests. So, think about why you want to volunteer, what do you enjoy doing? Opportunities that match your goals and interests are likely to be fun and fulfilling.

What are your volunteer goals?

To find a volunteer job that is right for you, you need to look for something that matches your personality, skills, and interests. So, ask yourself if you have something specific that you want to do or achieve as a volunteer.

For example, you may want to:

• Improve your life.
• Meet new people with different horizons or experiences.
• Try something new.
• Do something rewarding in your spare time.
• Visit new places or try a different way of living.
• Experiencing a new type of work, and you may want to pursue it as a full-time job.
• Expand your interests and hobbies. 

Consider several volunteer possibilities:

Don't limit your options to just one organization or one specific type of assignment. The opportunity may seem wonderful in theory sometimes, but what appears in reality is completely different. So, try to visit different organizations, find out how they are, and whether or not you get along with other staff and volunteers.

Where do we find volunteer opportunities?

• Theatres, museums, and local antiquities sites.
• Libraries and large centers.
• Service organizations.
• Local animal shelters, rescue organizations, and wildlife centers.
• Youth organizations, sports teams, and after-school programs.
• Historic restorations, national parks, and conservation organizations.
• Places of worship, such as churches and mosques.
• Online and elsewhere. 

How much time should you dedicate to volunteering?

Volunteering does not have to take over your life in order to be beneficial. Research shows that just two to three hours a week, or about 100 hours a year can give the most benefits to you and your issue. So, volunteering for a comfortable amount of time is what really matters. Volunteering should be a fun and rewarding hobby and not another chore on your to-do list.

Get the most out of volunteering:

It is important to enjoy volunteering and to benefit from it as you donate your valuable time, and to make sure that your volunteer work suits you.

1. Ask questions:

You should make sure that the experience is appropriate for your skills, goals, and time you want to spend. A sample of questions you might ask the volunteer coordinator might address how much time you have to commit, if you have any training involved, who you will be working with, and what you would do if you had questions during your experience.

2. Make sure you know what is expected of you:

The organization should suit you, and you understand the time commitment required, so consider starting small so that you don't push yourself at first, and give yourself some flexibility to change your focus if necessary.

3. Don't be afraid to make a change:

Don't force yourself to stay where you don't fit or feel obligated to commit to a volunteer role you don't like, so talk to the organization about changing your focus or finding a different organization that works better for you.

4. Choose carefully if you are volunteering abroad:

Some volunteer programs abroad can do more harm than good as they offer much needed paid jobs while excluding local workers, so look for volunteer opportunities with reputable organizations.

5. Have fun:

The best volunteer experiences depend on the will of both the volunteer and the organization, so if you are not enjoying your time, ask yourself why is it the tasks that you perform? Or the people you work with? Or are you uncomfortable just because the situation is new and unfamiliar? Identifying what's bothering you can help you figure out how to move forward.