Many, many years ago, when I first started college, I was planning on being a physicist (I didn’t even know what a social worker was, let alone what they did). However, a good friend of mine begged me to volunteer my time to help teach developmentally disabled (back then, this group of folks were called mentally retarded) how to swim and also how to play basketball . . . my response, “Why not?”
So, in I plunged, with the result being a total about face in my future vocational plans. Little did I know at the time that volunteering would not only change my life’s job outlooks, but would also improve my health. And that’s the topic for today’s Weekly Message – Volunteering to Improve Your Health.
The Corporation for National and Community Service completed a study back in 2007 that pulled together the results of numerous other studies focusing on the health benefits to volunteering your time, especially if you are 65 years of age or older. Their project, The Health Benefits of Volunteering: A Review of Recent Research, “found a significant connection between volunteering and good health.”
David Eisner, CEO of The Corporation for National and Community Service, said, “Volunteering makes the heart grow stronger.” By this Mr. Eisner simply meant that by giving your time to help others, you not only offer an altruistic solution to a stated need, but your heart benefits both physiologically and psychologically.
The report suggests what volunteering can do:
(Source: http://www.nationalservice.gov/about/newsroom/releases_detail.asp?tbl_pr_id=687 )
Volunteering not only can make you happier and healthier, it offers several other benefits that can easily be overlooked:
The key to successful volunteering is finding the right spot for you. Will you enjoy volunteering at this place and will you be capable of handling that responsibility?
Below are some questions to ask yourself as you begin your search for that “right fit:”
(Source: http://www.helpguide.org/life/volunteer_opportunities_benefits_volunteering.htm)
It has occurred to me that part of our role on this planet is to help others, at whatever level we can and for as long as we can. Some of us do it for a living, some over time through their religious affiliations; while others may offer services to others through recreational projects. The possibilities are nearly limitless, yet our time on earth is not.
Don’t just sit around wondering about giving back to others, get up and do it – It feels great to help others while asking for nothing back in return. You will be rewarded . . .
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Please pass along our thanks to Tim, Chris, Linda, and Theresa for all they have done.