Every community needs people who are willing to step up and offer help with a variety of different needs. Whether your community needs someone to help clean up a trash-filled park or serve food to the hungry, there is always a role available for someone who wants to contribute. While you can easily see how communities benefit from having volunteers, you may be wondering what is in it for you. Thinking through the benefits of community involvement for your life makes it easier to sign up to fulfill an upcoming role.
Increase Your Overall Life Satisfaction
It is hard to feel depressed when you are doing something good for someone else. You will also find that anxiety tends to ease up when you feel like you are able to make a rough situation better. People who volunteer tend to report having high self-esteem and confidence. Volunteers are often rewarded with praise and gratitude, which further helps you to feel better each day.
Develop Transferrable Job Skills
Many educational programs encourage students to serve their community. Volunteering can help a student explore a potential career or gain experience that helps them to find employment. Even if you don’t serve in your desired career field, you’ll still cultivate skills that you can use anywhere. For example, working at a food pantry helps you to learn how to work with others. Participating in a phone call or door-to-door political campaign teaches you valuable sales and communication skills. Whether you end up working at an animal shelter or shelving books at the library, you’re guaranteed to learn something new.
Expand Your Social Network
If you’ve ever wondered how people meet others, then volunteering is a great way to start adding to your social groups. If you work in a career where you might not be able to hang out with your coworkers after hours, then serving the community puts you in touch with other likeminded people. The friends that you make while serving in your community likely already share a few of your passions, and they just so happen to live nearby. You’ll also increase your positive reputation as others take note of your efforts to improve your community.
Getting involved in your community helps you to grow as a person. You’ll also find that it just feels good to do something nice for someone else. Whether your goal is to learn new skills or share your current ones with others, you’ll be able to accomplish your mission by taking a position that serves the people in your neighborhood.