10 Reasons to Volunteer and How It Changes Lives (Including Yours!)

written by Rosie Buckley | rosie.buckley@contentncoffee.com

Volunteering is a way to give back to the community and help people who need it. At the same time, it also allows you to make new friends and gain new skills. In this article, we’ll explore the impact that volunteering can have on your life and someone else’s life.

Feel Connected to Your Community

Talking to others whilst you’re volunteering creates a sense of belonging and teamwork. It can help you feel connected to the people in your community and learn more about the people around you.

Make New Connections

As well as helping people feel less alone, you’ll also find yourself making friends. You could find someone who shares a similar interest to you which is an exciting feeling. If you volunteer to help build a community garden because you like gardening, you may find someone who loves it too! Before you know it, you’ll have a whole new list of connections. Making new friends can also guide you to further volunteering opportunities.

Help Someone Feel Less Alone

Many elderly people feel lonely for many reasons. They may have lost loved ones over time, live alone, or are retired and don’t leave the house often. Many people who have disabilities tend to feel lonely too because of a wide variety of reasons. They may have communication difficulties or perhaps lack understanding from others. These two factors can lead to self-isolation which can also lead to depression and anxiety. Volunteering means you may be able to help someone feel less alone. Simply asking how their day was could mean the world to them.

Improve Mental Health

If you’re inside often, getting out and meeting new people can improve your mental wellbeing. If volunteering is something you’ve never done before, doing it for the first time can push you outside of your comfort zone. This will boost your confidence and make you feel accomplished. You’ll also be improving the wellbeing of anyone you’re volunteering to help. Having someone to talk to can make them feel seen and put a smile on their face.

Empower Others

By being there for someone, you can give them more opportunities. You could help a disabled person learn how to use a new piece of equipment to make living with their disability easier. You could also support someone emotionally who’s struggling. You may change someone’s life in ways you didn’t even know were possible.

Develop New Skills

By volunteering, you can help someone learn a new skill or find love for a hobby. If you’re volunteering in a care home, there’re many activities you can introduce to them. For example, you could give someone a word search book to have a go at. Doing word searches can unlock new skills like problem-solving and improving concentration. Volunteering can also help you learn new skills and work on any that you aren’t as good at.

It’s Work Experience

Volunteer work is something many employees look out for on a CV. It shows you’ve had experience with skills like teamwork, leadership, and commitment. This is especially useful if you’re volunteering in an area of work you’d like to go into one day.

Personal Growth

Step outside of your comfort zone and you’ll find yourself learning new things. You may accomplish things you didn’t know were even possible, which can change your perspective on life. Personal growth means you’re more likely to jump on opportunities you get given in the future.

Volunteering is enjoyable

There’s hardly any reason why it isn’t worth your time. It can improve your life and make the people you help smile. Hopefully, you’ve now got enough reasons to go out and volunteer!

Find out more

If you would like to find out more about volunteering head to Volunteer North Hampshire or pop along to a BVA Community Volunteer Hub to speak to someone in person – upcoming dates can be found here.