National Volunteer Week, first established in 1974, is an annual celebration that spotlights the amazing work volunteers do while encouraging more people to get involved in meaningful causes. Volunteering doesn’t just help organizations and communities—it provides powerful benefits for the volunteers themselves, too.
This National Volunteer Week, April 21-27, we’ll explore how giving your time can enrich your life while making the world a little bit better.
Today, we’ll cover the personal and community benefits of volunteering, different ways you can donate your time and talents, tips for getting started, strategies for overcoming hurdles, ideas for supporting volunteerism, and inspiration to keep giving back all year long.
The Benefits of Volunteering
Volunteering gives you the chance to help others, but the feel-good benefits go both ways. From boosting your mental health to building real-world skills, donating your time can have many positive effects.
Personal Benefits
On the personal side, volunteering can lift your mood, increase life satisfaction, and even improve physical health. Studies show volunteers have lower rates of depression, greater functional ability, and tend to live longer. Helping others gets you out of the house, gives you a sense of purpose, and allows you to meet new friends—all factors that contribute to overall well-being.
Volunteering also expands your horizons and enriches your life experiences. By taking on challenges, you’ll develop new interests, acquire valuable professional skills, and gain self-confidence. It’s a free way to explore different fields and discover hidden talents.
Community Benefits
Beyond the individual perks, volunteerism strengthens entire communities by bringing people from diverse backgrounds together to work on common goals. Volunteers help address critical issues like hunger, homelessness, and environmental damage and spread understanding, empathy, and hope. As volunteers solve issues plaguing the community, bonds are fortified as more problems get solved collaboratively.
Ways to Volunteer
The options for volunteering are endless and can fit any schedule or interest. If you want to give back, there’s certainly an option that will fit into your life.
In-Person Volunteering Opportunities
Traditional opportunities include serving meals at a soup kitchen, cleaning up parks and beaches, playing with dogs and cats at pet shelters, or visiting with seniors in nursing homes. You can also lend a hand at fundraising events like walks, runs, or gala dinners.
Virtual Volunteering Options
If you have a tighter schedule or mobility issues, check out virtual volunteering openings. You could tutor or mentor youth online, raise money through social media campaigns, participate in data transcription projects for nonprofits, or even teach languages or other skills remotely. The internet has made it easier than ever to pitch in from home.
How do you find these gigs?
How to Get Started Volunteering
Start by reflecting on your interests, skills, and availability. Make a list of causes, activities, and populations you feel passionate about assisting, which will point you toward relevant volunteer roles.
Next, research organizations that match your priorities. Check their websites for open positions and qualification requirements. Reach out to volunteer coordinators to inquire about applying. Be upfront about scheduling constraints so you can agree on a reasonable time commitment from the start.
Set realistic expectations, too. Volunteering takes dedication but shouldn’t add overwhelming stress to your life. Start slowly by trying out different roles until you find the right fit. Remember, you’re donating your time freely—you can scale back or ramp up as needed.
Overcoming Hurdles to Volunteering
People often want to volunteer but get tripped up by perceived obstacles like lack of spare time, low confidence in their abilities to help, burnout from taking on too much, or guilt from putting other obligations on the back burner. These hurdles are totally normal but can be overcome.
For time constraints, seek out flexible, remote, or short-term volunteer gigs. Or divide responsibilities amongst your friends and family so no one person is overburdened. Many organizations have opportunities where you can contribute as little as a couple of hours per month.
Feeling unsure of what you have to offer? Every volunteer role provides training so you’ll quickly get up to speed. And organizations need all sorts of skills—from data entry to dog walking—so you’re sure to find something thatplays to your strengths.
To avoid burnout, stagger your volunteering in seasons and ask the volunteer coordinators for advice on setting boundaries. Remember, consistency is great, but taking breaks when needed is also perfectly okay.
Supporting Volunteerism in Your Community
In addition to volunteering yourself, you can rally your loved ones and the broader community to join the cause. Inspire friends and family members to pick a shared volunteer activity everyone can participate in together. Suggest the idea at your workplace and neighborhood organizations, too.
You can also advocate for public policies and legislation that makes it easier for people to volunteer, such as allowing employees to take paid time off for charitable work or giving corporations tax incentives for implementing robust volunteer programs.
This National Volunteer Week and beyond, consider becoming a Volunteer Mentor to train and inspire others to get involved. Or look for Volunteer Coordinator roles where you can recruit, onboard, and support other volunteers while representing the organization’s mission.
Celebrate Volunteering All Year Long
Does this overview make you feel excited to reap the personal and societal rewards of volunteering? Even just a couple of hours per month can provide mood-boosting benefits while addressing critical community needs.
However you choose to give back—whether in person or online, solo or with a group—remember that your time and energy are invaluable gifts. Keep the spirit of service going year-round. Our communities can’t flourish without the dedication of generous volunteers like you.
