With the opportunities to volunteer this weekend, I wanted to talk about “Why we volunteer”.
- Volunteers live longer and are healthier.
Volunteers are happier and healthier than non-volunteers. Recent studies show that giving back can lower blood pressure, and increase memory retention.
- Volunteering establishes strong relationships.
Despite all of the online connections that are available at our fingertips, people spend less time with other people than ever. Working alongside people who feel as strongly as you do about supporting a particular cause creates a path to developing strong relationships with others
- Volunteering is good for your school.
It isn’t just us that recognizes the importance of volunteering, many school districts across the Nation are requiring their students to give back. Developing an attitude of service, makes these requirements easy to obtain
- Volunteering is good for society.
Many businesses, and almost all mission-driven organizations, are successful only if they maintain a strong volunteer workforce. In fact, places like museums, social service organizations, and faith-based organizations often rely on more volunteers than paid workers to meet their goals and fulfill their mission.
- Volunteering gives you a sense of purpose.
Although it is not well-understood why volunteering provides such a profound health benefit, a key factor is assumed to be that volunteering serves to express and facilitate opportunities to carry out one’s sense of purpose.
- Because we can
We have the ability and the time to volunteer for others, if, we make the decision to have the time. By looking at our priorities, we can see where our time is spent, and can adjust to make a difference in our community.