Volunteering is freely offering to perform tasks for organizations and others without receiving pay. It gives people countless opportunities to change other’s lives. Volunteering makes a difference in this world, and constantly has a positive effect on society, yet it has dramatically declined over the years. The decrease in volunteering is not just a local issue; it is a national problem. People seem to believe that volunteering is very time consuming and does not serve as big as a purpose as it used to. Many begin to ask, “Why volunteer?” Nevertheless, there are significant causes of volunteerism, including career, physical, and (insert) benefits.
The most common reason of volunteering is gaining work experience. Volunteering forms “weak-tie connections that lead to career opportunities” (“5 Reasons Why You Should Volunteer”). Truthfully, volunteering is just like an actual job; there is just no pay received, so it makes sense that doing so will provide benefits in careers. If a person has already achieved their position in their career field, volunteering can help strengthen the skills they already have, and they can learn new skills in the process. By trying out the skills with volunteering, workers will not risk losing their current job standing and reputation (Booggaard, 2015).
Volunteerism teaches people about teamwork, people’s emotions, and planning events, which will benefit a person in any career field. Volunteer work looks great on job resumes; furthermore, volunteering is required for certain careers. For example, most people who would like to attend medical school must have a certain minimum of volunteer hours to be considered for enrollment in the school., and college students often volunteer to improve job searches. Along with resume benefits, volunteering can help people decide what they want to further their career in because working for different organizations will determine what people like and dislike. For example, volunteering for a small, nonprofit organization might work well for some people, but working for a large, well-known organization could be better for others.
Another cause for volunteering is to maintain mental and physical health. According to HealthGuide’s “Volunteering and Its Surprising Benefits”, “Volunteering helps counteract the effects of stress, anger, and anxiety.” Doing selfless deeds can lower the risks of high blood pressure, heart disease, and many other illnesses. Older men and women who volunteer experience less symptoms of chronic pain, so there are able to be more physically active. Also, volunteering can decrease dementia in elderly workers. PsychologyToday states in “5 Reasons Why You Should Volunteer” that “volunteering is even more beneficial for one’s health than exercising and eating well.” Disabilities do not hinder volunteerism, because people who volunteer have shown improvements in their health after volunteering (“5 Reasons Why You Should Volunteer”).
When people volunteer for organizations, they create relationships with people of different backgrounds; keeping in contact with people is shown to protect against anxiety and depression. Building these relationships will also lower the feeling of isolation. Volunteering helps people realize that they are needed in this world more than they have ever known. No work is too small; every little thing matters. Seeing this will boost a person’s self-esteem and increase their personal growth. Once seeing that volunteerism can provide growth in aspects of one’s personal life, people will understand how working for a meaningful cause can be beneficial.
Along with career and physical benefits, volunteering also has
In conclusion, there are countless benefits of volunteerism. Everything is not always about money. Volunteering makes not only the people working with no pay happy, but it also makes the people apart of the organization proud. It will provide every volunteer with a new perspective on my life; they will see the struggles of others and see how they can help them through their service. Every person has the chance to increase the population of volunteers and keep current volunteers involved by promoting that there are plenty of benefits to volunteering.