The Benefits of Volunteering

When people think about volunteering, they often conceive of it as a selfless act done out of pure generosity. This is (ideally) true, but donating time also comes with valuable benefits for volunteers that can improve their physical, mental, and social health. Here are some of the surprising rewards of volunteering.

Physical Health Benefits

How much volunteering benefits you physically depends, of course, on the kind of work you’re doing. Volunteers who do manual labor are likely to burn more calories and build more muscle than those working in offices and in sedentary roles. Still, any form of volunteering is beneficial. Here are some of the physical health rewards of volunteering:

• People who donate their time have better overall physical health than those who don’t.
• Volunteering reduces stress, and stress reduction helps to prevent serious conditions like hypertension, heart disease, stroke, general illness, and more.
• Volunteers actually have a longer lifespan than non-volunteers, even taking other relevant health factors into account.

Psychological Health Benefits

Donating your time is also good for your mental health. Here are just a few ways that this manifests itself:

Offering your time and skills pro bono has been proven to relieve stress, anxiety, and depression.

Doing good for the sake of others helps to release feel-good chemicals in the brain, which makes people happier overall.

Volunteering improves self-confidence, making those who do it feel more capable and in control of their lives.

Serving a worthwhile cause provides volunteers with a sense of purpose, which can lead to greater satisfaction and a more meaningful life.

Social and Career Benefits

Finally, there are also many important social and even career benefits to donating your time. Although these should not be your primary reason for volunteering, they can be strong perks, particularly if you are going through a rough or lonely time in your life. Here are some of the social benefits of volunteering:

Serving important causes can help you feel more connected to your community and the people, animals, and natural spaces in it.

Donating your time can help you to meet new people and make new friends; it can also help you to build a professional network.

Volunteering builds your interpersonal and relationship skills, which can help you to form happier, healthier, and more lasting personal and professional bonds. Having a service-oriented attitude can make you more attractive to employers as well.

Volunteering offers activities that families can do together, which in turn can help family members feel closer to each other.

Reap the Rewards of Service With Boston Volunteer

Boston Volunteer works to make Boston and Massachusetts cleaner, safer, and better for everyone. We organize volunteer events and fundraisers that fill various local needs, from making education more equitable to improving the health and vitality of our environment. We partner with other nonprofit organizations and mobilize volunteers to ensure that all of our fellow Bostonians have the opportunities they need to succeed.

However, we can’t do these things without you. You can get involved with us in a variety of ways, and our upcoming events are a great place to start. Join us today!

Back