From the time I can remember, my grandmother always talked about being of service to the community. I started volunteering when I was just in high school. I taught the preschool class at my church for a summer during vocational bible school. It was one of the reasons I wanted to teach preschool when I grew up. I can honestly say I don’t know where I would be if I didn’t volunteer. Most of my employment opportunities post my accident I got from volunteering. Two studies back this up. One, published in Social Science Research, discovered that when people engaged in volunteerism, they saw an increase in their salary. Additional research published by the Center for Economic and Policy Research found that those who volunteer tend to have better employment and higher wages.
Volunteering helps counteract the effects of stress, anger, and anxiety. The social contact aspect of helping and working with others can have a profound effect on your overall psychological well-being. Volunteering can provide a healthy boost to your self-confidence, self-esteem, the 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 identify.
Finding the right organization to volunteer with is important. If you don’t know where to start just think about things that interest you. Volunteer work becomes truly meaningful when you align with the organization’s mission and values. Allowing your skill and passion intersect with their cause, the work will become more meaningful.
Giving back can give some much to your life. At time you will feel like you get more out of the experience than the people you are trying to help. We know that volunteering has positive impacts for the individual, for the people and communities they dedicate their time to support, for the development of effective service provision and for society as a whole.
There are 10 benefits of volunteering
- Reduces loneliness
- Improves job skills
- Connection to the community
- Feel a sense of purpose
- Meet new people
- Drive community improvements
- Improves physical and mental health
- Get you out of your comfort zone
- Increased empathy and understanding
- Personal growth and self-discovery
Speaking from my experience volunteering opened my world up to so much. It truly helped me become the woman I am today. Don’t just take my word for it get out there and help someone.