When was the last time you did something for free? In high school, many of you were probably expected to complete a certain number of volunteer hours. After satisfying the requirement, though, did you continue? Of course, it’s understandable that the older you get, the more things you have to pay for and the more you expect to get paid for your time. However, volunteering can be beneficial because of the kind of satisfaction, lessons and overall growth that come with it.
What do you want for your life? Do you want to be happy? Are you driven by success? Well, in Dan Pink’s RSA Animate video, he talks about how people essentially choose activities that provide autonomy, mastery and purpose. If you really think about it, we are motivated by intrinsic rewards.
Although it’s nice to get paid, volunteering your time, effort and energy impacts the way you see yourself, the way you see other people, and the way you live your life.
Here are four reasons every woman – and man – should start volunteering as soon as possible:
I’ll admit it – this point is probably the most obvious. More often than not, men and women need help but can’t afford to pay for it. For instance, if you go to your local animal shelter, you will see that they are often understaffed but overpopulated with animals in need of attention and homes. For example, the San Diego Humane Society is always looking for people to help spay and neuter animals in order to avoid overpopulation. Even if you’re not an animal lover, organizations everywhere can always use helping hands. Volunteering can mean bringing food to the hungry, providing clothes and shelter to the needy, protecting wildlife, tutoring students in school, and even showing comfort or care toward the sick or lonely. Wherever you are in the world and whatever skills you have to offer, someone needs them.
Volunteering can also put you in environments you may have been previously sheltered from. For example, taking a mission trip to the Philippines will expose you to different cultures and lifestyles. Spending time with men and women who live in developing countries will give you a better awareness of the privilege you have grown up with and a better understanding of diversity. Perhaps the most beautiful lesson will emerge from how happy and thankful these people are despite their circumstances. This experience will help you to better appreciate your family and their sacrifices, as well as your community. But you don’t even have to go to developing countries to gain this kind of perspective or character. Babysitting can teach you patience and empathy for parents while passing out care packages to the homeless women in your area can teach you gratitude for simple luxuries like a hair brush or shampoo.
While there’s no actual science to this, it’s well known that volunteering provides profound health benefits. Men and women who volunteer often find greater meaning in their lives when they are helping others. According to the Corporation for National and Community Service, volunteering also improves problem solving skills (which could definitely benefit any future business women!) and strengthens communities,. Not only that, but CNCS research has shown that people who volunteer have “lower mortality rates, greater functional ability, and lower rates of depression later in life” than those who don’t. Overall, volunteering can give you the personal satisfaction of knowing you are capable of putting other people’s needs before your own. Feeling this kind of growth in purpose at a young age may even help shape the path you take as you get older. Volunteering also helps avoid feeling listless as you transition from chapter to chapter in your life.
Of course, when you volunteer you also meet new people. Some of these men and women are those you’ve helped while others are the people you worked with. For one, you can use these new friendships to to network for future business opportunities. Even if your new contacts can’t help you occupationally, meeting new people, regardless of who they are, increases the breadth and diversity of your relationships. It’s good to form bonds and know people from backgrounds that differ from your own because it opens your world to one of understanding, inclusion, and openness.
So, the next time you find yourself with nothing to do, consider volunteering. Although it’s nice to get paid for a job well done, your parents (and all the sappy romantic comedies) were right when they told you, “Money can’t buy everything.” Volunteering is beneficial for your personal growth, your health, and your lifestyle. It can make you happy and motivated in ways money may not be able to. But best of all, aside from helping yourself, volunteering also helps other people.
