I’d be willing to bet that we all know people who volunteer. Maybe it’s been you that has gone out and given some of your time. Since retiring I have spent a lot of time volunteering for a few great causes. In September I became a Civic Leader with Hands on Atlanta and shortly after that I became a volunteer Ambassador for Autism Speaks. What’s the point of investing valuable time or money to become involved? What motivates people to do this? What’s to be gained from volunteering?
When I look at these questions from a personal perspective, volunteering goes beyond the selfless idea of helping others. My daughter has greatly benefitted from volunteers who have enhanced her life and helped her and her peer group. I often reflect on her early school years when volunteers played a big part in her learning and I hope by being a volunteer, another parent/caregiver will one day reflect on how I enhanced the life of their loved one. Volunteering also gives me a stronger sense of belonging within my community. No two-people’s inner drive will be the same! As a Civic Leader and an Ambassador, I receive a lot of professional training in leadership skills, public speaking, fundraising and conflict management in addition to practical experience. I have access to mentors and if I were looking for career guidance I could have plenty.
Whatever it is that gets you off the couch and out making a difference, there are definite science-backed reasons as to why volunteering is good for you. HelpGuide.org lists several benefits of volunteering including:
- It helps you make new friends and contacts
- It increases your social and relationship skills
- It increases self-confidence
- It helps you stay physically healthy
- It can provide career experience
- It can teach you valuable job skills
- It brings fun and fulfillment to your life
As you can see from this list, volunteering doesn’t just help improve the lives of those in need; it helps to improve aspects of your very own life as well. It can help you create connections and improve your social skills by interacting with different people and different personalities. This constant and diverse interaction can lead to a satisfying sense of fulfillment. This sort of fulfillment can help battle depression and even increase self-confidence.
Once you start volunteering, your overall mindset on doing good can change and you may find yourself performing random acts of kindness more often and reaping the feel-good benefits that come along with it. Your own happiness and willingness can spread and encourage your friends and family to get involved as they see how it has affected you positively.
Volunteering can be not only very rewarding but very inspiring as well. It can lead you to eye-opening experiences that help you become in-touch with some of the things that are going on in your community and the world. It can show you how many people are actually in need of help, and just how easy it can be to contribute. As the big idea of “making a difference” feels more accessible, you may imagine how much of an impact we could make if all of us just volunteered a little more time. Helping feels good and gets addictive!
But of course, the most important motivation of all is helping a good cause. You can align your passions to a great cause and watch the magic unfold. Alongside everything else listed, that are really added benefits, this reason alone may be enough to help kick start your interest in volunteering!
