How Does Volunteering Help Me?

When you volunteer in something you’re interested in, it connects you to your community and help others. You will also have the opportunity to make new friends or build connections to jobs you’re interested in. You can also learn new skills. If you regularly meet with others with common interests, it can make it easier to reach out and connect to others.

While regularly donating your time to other people, research shows it can help with feelings of loneliness, since it keeps you connected with other people. Knowing your actions are positively impacting someone else can also help develop emotional stability and happiness.

When you volunteer, it gives you the opportunity to build new skills and this can give you a sense of pride and identity. Additionally, studies show doing something good for others also gives a sense of accomplishment, which can help you feel better about yourself.

You may feel that a certain volunteer opportunity has no relation to what you want to do for your career. But, you may want to look at the skills volunteering helps you to develop which you can be add to your resume. For example, if you enjoy working with others you may not be suited to a job where you work at a computer all day.