Give and get back: 5 advantages of volunteering

January 31, 2015

If you find a place where you enjoy volunteering your time, it can enhance your life in a variety of ways. Here are just a few of the benefits of volunteering.

Give and get back: 5 advantages of volunteering

Our lives are busy and it can be hard to find time to volunteer, but the benefits of volunteering can be really great. If you find a place where you enjoy volunteering your time, it can enhance your life in a variety of ways. Here are just a few of the benefits of volunteering.

1. Meet new people

The older we get, the harder it can be to connect with new people. Volunteering offers a great way to meet people who have similar interests and care about the same things that you do. It also lets you connect to a different population of people than you might otherwise encounter in your daily life. For example, it would give you the opportunity to liaise with those who care about volunteering for an autism foundation or an elderly care facility. These encounters can make your life and theirs much richer and more fulfilling.

2. Improve your mental health

Volunteering can provide many benefits for both your mental and physical health. It can boost your self-confidence by making you feel like you are doing good work for your community and connecting with others. It can also help combat depression if you have been experiencing it. Volunteering keeps you in regular contact with other people and helps you develop a support network that you can depend on. This can help you reduce stress and sadness in your life.

3. Boost happiness

Helping others definitely kindles happiness in your own life. Working with people in an environment that's dedicated to helping others makes your life more meaningful. You may even feel that this kind of reward means more to you than any kind of financial compensation.

4. Improve your resume

Besides all of the humanistic value that volunteering offers, it's also good for your career. Companies love to hire people who have shown an interest in helping out their community and making an impact on the world. It also gives you experience doing things that you might not otherwise get to do in your work environment.

5. Have fun

Volunteering can simply make your life more fun! You can explore the things that you love and enjoy in life, and that kind of positive exploration can make your life more meaningful and give you a renewed sense of passion. Volunteering can actually cross paths with hobbies that you enjoy, such as pet lovers volunteering to walk dogs at an animal shelter. Find something that you enjoy doing and you're bound to see benefits from it.

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