Featured Article

The Positive Benefits of Volunteering

Written by Leigh Spencer, Improving Lives Volunteer and Mental Health Advocate

Volunteer opportunities cover many areas of life from helping out with animal organisations, litter picking, service organisations, libraries and support groups, to name just a few. Some organisations or groups are large and nationwide, others are small and local and some are international. Volunteers come from all walks of life, are all ages and come with many, many different skills and they don’t do it for praise or rewards, but simply because they want to help.

When reflecting on the past year, it is far easier to look at what went wrong than looking at what went right. It seems selfish to praise ourselves for all those times when our actions went smoothly, so we ignore them. However it is important to take time to reflect on those times and see what went well. It could be you asked for help, or you didn’t put pressure on yourself or you made it fun. Look for the positives, no matter how small they are.

It is important to understand that not all volunteering opportunities work out; There is nothing wrong with saying OK this isn’t working out and looking to see if there is another organisation that is a better fit.

When considering volunteering, ask yourself:

What skills would you bring to a particular group?
How much time can you devote?
Is it something you are interested in?
Is it something that you’d like to know more about?

There are many benefits to volunteering and each volunteer will do so in a different way. For example if you are picking up litter around your neighbourhood you are getting some exercise, contributing to your community and that can increase your self-esteem. Sometimes, if you don’t feel that confident, yet you are motivated to volunteer, that act in itself can boost your confidence, because you’ve gone and volunteered and are helping in whatever capacity you can.

Benefits of Volunteering

A great way to feel less isolated and to make friends
Regain your self confidence
Improve your physical health, wellbeing and esteem
Remote and online opportunities mean you can volunteer from the comfort of your own home.

There are times in life when due to circumstances you might feel lonely and isolated. It could be that you’ve moved to a new area, or you’ve had some health issues that have led to being isolated. Being lonely can cause mild depression so volunteering can lower depression levels and is a great way to make new friends. Nor does it have to be in-person, there are online and phone opportunities that can be done from the comfort of your home and even if they are completed remotely it is comforting to know that you have the support of the organisation you are volunteering for.

It can also help you feel valued and that you are part of a team. This can be very true if you have benefited from volunteer services and would like to give something back, whether it is to the team that supported you or to another organisation. Improving Lives has volunteers who are receiving support and who are volunteering for the organisation in whatever way they can.

Volunteering can be a family event. It could be that you volunteer to foster animals; with the right set up it can be a rewarding experience for both the parent and child as well as helping the animal on their path to finding their forever home. Litter picking isn’t just for adults, children can help as well and it is a way of showing your children how to give back to the community and how volunteering even in a small way makes a difference. Another idea is to visit a nursing home to share stories, play games and provide companionship. For teenagers it is an opportunity for them to develop an understanding of caring for the elderly.

Where to look for volunteering opportunities?

Online

Looking online is a good place to start if you are happy doing so. A simple way to do this for example if you are looking for a volunteer opportunity with animals is to enter into a search engine “volunteering with animals” and see what suggestions appear. You might want to volunteer for a non-profit; searching for non-profits is a great way to find non-profits in your area and what opportunities they have. Job search websites such as Indeed are another way of looking online for volunteer opportunities. Job search sites are particularly good as you can set up searches that can be emailed to you.

In person

If you prefer to look for volunteer opportunities in person, it is also worth mentioning that not all places advertise their volunteering opportunities online. Places that you could look at are your local schools, museums, sports teams, places of worship, local libraries and food banks. If there are any bulletin boards around your area you could see if there are any opportunities posted on them. You might even want to ask your family, friends and acquaintances if they know of or have any recommendations for volunteering opportunities. For those at school, college or university there are often volunteering opportunities within the education facility.