Something that many successful business people like Haris Ahmed Chicago tend to have in common is a commitment to volunteerism. Not content to earn money in a community, they are driven by a desire to give back by supporting non-profit organizations or through community service. They understand that serving their communities creates benefits that go both ways. Here are some of the ways that you will benefit by sharing your time and skills with people and organizations in need.
Volunteers are happier and healthier
Volunteering, no matter what you are doing, will bring you into contact with other people, either volunteers themselves or the people who are receiving your help. It is well-known that this sorts of daily contact is a significant contributor to overall health and well-being. Studies confirm that volunteers have lower levels of illness and depression and even lower mortality rates than people who don’t volunteer their time. In part, this is because volunteering gives people a sense of purpose and accomplishment, and also a sense of making a real difference in the life of another person. Volunteering helps to establish meaningful connections between people and their communities which remind us that we are not alone in the world. These positive emotions contribute significantly to mental well-being.
Volunteers develop skills that can help them in other areas of their lives
Volunteering is different than donating goods because it requires you to get out there and to do something specific. You probably wouldn’t volunteer to build a home for Habitat without at least some basic construction skills, but you would definitely broaden those skills as you learned on the job. You would probably also learn new skills that you hadn’t anticipated – for example, working on a construction site might encourage you to learn about project management, or construction supply chains, or even some basic electrical tasks. The fact that volunteers tend to pick up a broad range of skills is something that employers are increasingly understanding. Not only does volunteering say something positive about your character and reliability, but it can also be a useful way to round out your resume when you are a looking for your first job.
Volunteers feel like they have more time rather than less
It is a strange thing, but one that is borne out by research – people who commit some of their time to volunteer activities actually feel like they have more of it, rather than less. This runs directly counter to the idea that busy people can’t volunteer because they don’t have enough time. In a sense, is confirms the old adage “the more you do, the more you can do” in that volunteers learn how to work efficiently in all aspects of their lives so that they can accomplish more in less time. However, it is also a subjective impression. Volunteers don’t actually have more time, but they feel like they do. In other words, they don’t perceive time spent volunteering as a burden on their time, but rather as a fulfilling way to spend it.
As you can see, there are benefits to volunteering that are just as meaningful for volunteers as they are for the communities and people they serve. If you are considering giving your time to support a worthy cause, know that you will reap the rewards as well.
