12 Benefits of Volunteering

Isn’t it a great feeling to make new friends? This is one of the biggest advantages of volunteering. Also, since the new friends you know will be people you’ll meet in a community, this means you’ll have common interests and worldviews. After all, you’re working together in a community for a cause. Together, you’ll socialize and take action to beautify the world. 

It doesn’t matter what purpose you’re working towards in the community. You may be working for children or working on another project. No matter what, you have a common purpose as those working on that project. This unites you for the same purpose. As you help people out there or where you’re helping, you’ll also be helping each other. What’s better than being friends with people with common values? 

Especially if you have children, this will be beneficial for them because your children watch what you do very carefully and take an example. Maybe even if you’re not aware of it right now…So, having a role model around means that your child will be a better person in the future. While you’re working on this project, you’re helping those around you, and this will make a positive difference in yourself. Your child will see this too and maybe volunteer in the future. 

Of course, it doesn’t just end with children, we start changing the world around us when we take volunteer opportunities. This means that we’ll start to make small changes in our environment. For example, your friends may want to volunteer as they see the positive change in you. Perhaps with this positive change, you’ll save a friend who is very upset or even depressed. 

Volunteering is something to be proud of. When you start doing this for a while, you’ll start to feel it and you’ll feel like a more successful person. Because you put yourself in the background and care about others, you try to do something good for other people.

If you have negative thoughts about yourself, volunteering helps you to eliminate them. You begin to have more and more positive thoughts about yourself. This also increases your self-esteem. Therefore, volunteering is also a good way for shy people to get rid of this feeling. Some experts recommend volunteering to adolescents for their personal development and mental and physical health. Many studies show how helping other people helps boosts self-confidence. Also, self-confidence includes meeting a lot of people. As you socialize with people, your self-confidence increases. 

Many of us spend difficult days thinking about our life’s purpose. Many of us sometimes are  drowning in the chaos of daily life. This mess is overwhelming and sometimes we forget what we live for and what our purpose is in life. 

However, a person needs to have a purpose to be a more positive person and to hold on to life more tightly. When you have a goal, you can find the motivation to achieve it. Volunteering also benefits you in this sense. There is a life purpose to you by letting you be a part of something. For example, someone who works very hard at their job may do this to regain their motivation. Or, if a retiree is so bored sitting at home and feels the retirement plans are exhausting, volunteering in a community will do him/her good too. 

Through volunteering, you’ll meet people with personalities that you’ve perhaps never met before. Or, you’ll be in an environment where you’ve never been before. Volunteering programs broaden your horizons as they’re made up of diverse people. You can meet people from almost all types of backgrounds. This gives you a different view of the world.

For example, you may come across someone whose upbringing is not the same as yours. Or, you can meet different cultures, especially if you’re volunteering for an international organization. You’ll see what other people are dealing with in daily life. You can start to look at the world in a completely different way, which will also increase your social skills. Starting to look at the world from a different perspective is one of the biggest advantages of volunteering. 

Experts often recommend that people who experience problems such as stress, anger, and anxiety also volunteer. This is good for your psychology, as your priority will be to help others while working as a volunteer. You can manage stress by establishing good bonds with other people. Socialization is one of the best ways to deal with stress. Also, if you’re experiencing sudden outbursts of anger in daily life, it’ll be good for you in that sense. Because you’ll know that your priority isn’t yourself and that it’ll not be good for others. 

For all these reasons, volunteering is also good against depression. Because helping others is good in every way, it can also help depressed people get out of it. Many studies have also shown that people feel better when they strive for the well-being of others. In general, volunteers report that they’re happier. 

And of course… Volunteering is good for your physical health as well as your mental health. If there are volunteers around you (how lucky you’re!), you can prove it by asking them directly. Studies show that many volunteers say they feel much healthier once they start doing it. Moreover, even there are studies that it cures some chronic diseases. 

As we’ve mentioned above, volunteering helps reduce stress levels and a stress-free life directly brings a healthy physical life. Also, if you haven’t been physically active until now, volunteering makes you a more active person. Because there are activities that you need to do. For example, depending on the organization, you may need to go somewhere and deliver food or participate in a running marathon. In short, we can say that volunteering means a longer life.  

It’s inevitable not to learn something while volunteering. It doesn’t matter in which organization you’re, you’ll learn many new skills and have the chance to improve what you already have. Whatever the community you’re interested in, you’ll notice that you’ve developed seriously in that sense. For example, it’ll seriously increase your social skills. 

These are skills that will come in handy later on in all areas of life. For example, your communication skills will increase as you’re together with many people. Moreover, this can be a situation that will make you stand out in job interviews later on. Or, let’s say you’re cooking for children in your organization, this cooking will increase your cooking skills and you can give great invitations to your friends. Every skill you gain in the organization you volunteer for will be useful in your daily life. 

If you feel like you’re in a stagnation period in your career, if you’re in a state of burnout, we have great advice for you: volunteer! Volunteering can also give you the chance to take big steps in your career. There will be many new people around you, and these people may be the ones you seek for your career. Especially if you’ve doubts about your career and considering sailing to other fields, you can volunteer in an organization that is interested in that field and gain experience. 

Being a volunteer and adding it to your CV will take you one step ahead of other candidates in job interviews. Many companies appreciate volunteer candidates. Because you show that you can put yourself in the background and do things for others. Also, you’re passionate and determined in what you do. This is one of the biggest benefits of volunteering.

Lately, don’t you know what to do and struggle with the feeling of being bored all the time? Volunteering may be what you’re looking for. If you want to take up a new hobby or do something else in general, but can’t find what it’s, you can discover what you’re looking for by volunteering. 

Many people try volunteering to find out what their passion in life is. The things you do for the sake of volunteering will be things you do outside of your school, work, or family. So, you can think of it as an escape from everyday life in a sense. In this way, you can empty your mind and do the things enjoy during the time you’re there. For example, you can go to an animal shelter with your organization and take care of the animals there. This will be a lot of fun.

We’re faced with many problems in our daily life. Endless deadlines, commuting to work every day, chores when you get home…

Here’s another benefit of volunteering. When you forget about yourself and focus on others while volunteering, you’ll be a little bit away from the thoughts that suffocate you every day. It’ll take you a little bit away from staring at the ceiling and thinking for five minutes each day. Because at this point, your main goal is to help others. And, believe us, while helping others, your daily problems will slip out of your mind and you’ll feel much better while you’re there. And, it’ll make you grateful for the life you live. Because you’ll see many lives while volunteering. And, it’ll make you realize that what you’re going through isn’t all that bad. 

This is usually the most challenging phase when we try to try something new. Getting out of the comfort zone we live in every day and trying something new…

Volunteering will provide you with this opportunity and will be an unforgettable experience in your life. You’ll find that leaving your comfort zone isn’t such a terrible thing, and it can lead you to other new adventures. For example, if you’ve always wanted to travel the world but it seems difficult to get out of your comfort zone, you’ll start to think about this thanks to volunteering. Some of the difficulties you’ll encounter while working as a volunteer will also be good for you. Of course, they’ll be difficult while experience, but when you’re not in your comfort zone, you’ll see how you can deal with problems and your self-confidence will increase. See, there are many benefits of volunteering.