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Volunteering can imporve psychological well-being and satisfaction
Volunteering offers many unexpected benefits
Would you volunteer if volunteering helped you to secure a scholarship? Would you volunteer if it greatly impacted your social health? Volunteering is surprisingly helpful and beneficial.
Volunteering for the sake of a scholarship, however, may be hard for some who are shy or who avoid socializing. Nevertheless, the benefits may be worth the effort.
“Volunteer experience may also boost your financial aid package. There are a great deal of scholarships and grants out there that list community service as a prerequisite, so if you dedicate some time each week to volunteer work, you could be giving your financial aid profile a boost as well,” according to scholarships.com.
Volunteering can also open the door for a job opportunity.
One of the largest online job placement sites, monster.com owned by Monster World Wide, advises, “Many companies have a strong social responsibility core and showing your charitable side displays a good cultural fit. Candidates who volunteer stand out in a positive way because their passion and involvement with community is evident. Volunteering can add depth to your resume and help you get noticed.”
Volunteering can help a resume look attractive in more than just one way if the volunteer can gain experience in specific roles that would show leadership such as management of a crew.
Some suggest starting your commitment by volunteering on holidays.
Volunteering is also a great way to socialize, and socializing has been shown to be significantly beneficial. Volunteering has also been known to reduce stress and anxiety because of the social life that volunteering encourages.
“Volunteering helps counteract the effects of stress, anger, and anxiety. The social contact aspect of helping and working with others can have a profound effect on your overall psychological well-being. Nothing relieves stress better than a meaningful connection to another person,” according to Help Guide, a mental and emotional health resource that collaborates with Harvard Medical School.
Volunteering has been known to increase the joy a volunteer feels. Noel Krissie, a UCC student, has volunteered in the past multiple times, and she says, “If I’m available, I would like to help.”
Recently she helped clean Stewart Park with a volunteer group, and she stated that if she has more time in the future in between school, she would volunteer again.
Health Help lists some of the other benefits: “combats depression” and “makes you happy.”
Volunteering also benefits a community. Susan Dreyfus, president and CEO of the Alliance for Strong Families and Communities, was quoted on Career Purpose’s website as saying, “Volunteerism not only supports the impact of community-based organizations in the places where they serve, but also connects individuals to one another and to the issues facing their community.”
If socializing and making friends, resisting depression, increasing a chance at a scholarship, and receiving any other benefits that come along with volunteering are of interest, then here are some ways to get a start in the Roseburg area.
–YMCA
–UCC
The American Red Cross accepts volunteers for disaster relief and over 62,000 people volunteer to provide that need every year.
The United Way provides a way to find volunteer opportunities near you and to even target your specific interests in an organization or field.
The Roseburg VA provides information on their website concerning volunteer opportunities,
These few examples could be the catalysts for a future scholarship and improved social life. They could be a way for you to give back to your community while improving your mental health.
Contact me at:
UCCMainstream@yahoo.com