The Benefits of Volunteering
The Benefits of Volunteering
“I slept and dreamt that life was joy,” wrote Bangladeshi poet Rabindranath Tagore. “I awoke and saw that life was service. I acted, and behold: service was joy.”
To this day, his words ring true in the human spirit. We still find joy in serving others. But studies and experience show that we can find much more in volunteer work. The benefits of volunteering extend beyond joy and show us why volunteering is important not only for our communities, but for ourselves.
So, why is community service important? There are as many reasons as there are volunteers. For each individual, volunteering can have an abundance of meaning. It can be a way to make a difference in the world, a chance to support important causes, or an avenue to act on philosophical, ethical, religious, or cultural beliefs.
In any case, volunteer work satisfies these personal motivations and achieves much more. Community service has a profound effect not only on the community being served, but on the person volunteering, too. Here’s a look at volunteering benefits in the realms of mental and physical health, social connectedness, and life and career development.
MENTAL AND PHYSICAL HEALTH
It’s no surprise to anyone who’s felt that satisfied glow that comes from doing something for others: volunteering provides a wealth of benefits for your mental health. The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) reports that volunteering has the following mental health benefits:
Reducing stress
Increasing happiness
Developing confidence
Finding purpose
Spending time on volunteer work can combat depression and boost your self-confidence and self-esteem. It can also relieve the rushed feeling many of us experience when our lives get hectic. A Harvard Business Review study found that “giving your time to others can make you feel more ‘time affluent’ and less time-constrained than wasting your time, spending it on yourself, or even getting a windfall of free time.”
Volunteering can provide a boost to your physical health as well! Depending on your volunteering duties, you may find yourself doing more standing and walking than usual, or you might engage in physical activity like lifting and moving things, construction or assembly, or assisting with community gardening. Whatever form it takes, exercise is a great health benefit.
All of these advantages work together to make volunteering a healthy choice for you, both physically and mentally. A study in the Journal of Health and Social Behavior found that volunteer work positively impacted each of these six aspects of well-being: happiness, life satisfaction, self-esteem, sense of control over life, physical health, and depression.
SOCIAL CONNECTEDNESS
Volunteer work comes with a host of social perks, too. It can bring you that needed sense of belonging, community, and acceptance. Much of this support comes from your fellow volunteers as you all develop a shared social identity. A study of this shared identity reported that “for our participants, especially those recovering from illness, bereavement, or major life transitions, volunteering provided a source of identity-based support and a means of social reintegration.”
Indeed, getting involved in community service is an excellent way to make new friends. The people you’re serving with will have similar interests and values as you, which makes for a solid foundation of friendship. And in addition to developing friendships, you’ll develop and improve your social skills as you interact with fellow volunteers, organization staff, and the people you’re helping.
LIFE AND CAREER DEVELOPMENT
When you spend your time volunteering, you’re also gaining life- and career-related benefits. Volunteer work exposes you to a range of new experiences and allows you to develop new skills. These experiences enrich your life, and the skills you’ll learn can be applied to your personal affairs or career.
In fact, doing volunteer work in a new field can help you gain experience, skills, and connections if you’re looking to pivot to that line of work. Or if you’re currently on the hunt for a job, volunteering can give you a host of job-seeking benefits.
From career and life skills to social, physical, and mental health, volunteering is a clear win-win scenario. You can support the causes you care about, make a real difference in people’s lives, and see positive change in your own life as well.
If you’re ready to experience those positive changes and multifaceted benefits, consider volunteering with us at One New Humanity. From our premises in the Banglatown neighborhood of Detroit and Hamtramck, we serve our local immigrant, refugee, and low-income communities in a variety of creative and valuable ways.
Our community initiatives like Sylhet Farm and Sisterhood Fitness make an incredible impact on the lives of Banglatown residents. You can be part of that by donating now to support our work! If you’re in the Detroit area, consider dropping off in-kind donations, organizing a collection drive, or shopping at our nonprofit thrift store, Joy Thrift in Hamtramck! Together we can elevate our beautiful community, and bring joy and support to those who need it most.