What fascinates or excites you when you are free? Watching television, going out with friends, spending time with family, sleeping or relaxing at home, cooking and vacationing would be some of the most monotonous replies one can hear when asked this question. However, there are people who want to be productive even during their spare time by doing something meaningful that brings them personal satisfaction.
Volunteering is one such activity that is becoming popular these days. It is giving people an opportunity to explore their inner-self and also make a great addition to their professional life. It is an altruistic activity where an individual or group provides services for no ‘financial’ gains. People choose to volunteer for a variety of reasons.
For some, it is fun, whereas for others, it is an obligation to perform their moral duties. Some see it as an opportunity to enhance their professional skills whereas others see it as a medium to make new connections and friends. We are here to tell you why volunteering is good for people. Here are some of the benefits of volunteering:
- Proper utilisation of time. Research has found that those who volunteer their time feel like they have more of it. The findings also state that giving your time to others can make you feel more ‘time affluent’. It is similar to people who donate to charity feeling ‘wealthier’.
- Development of new skills. Skill-based volunteering is an excellent opportunity to help you improve your teamwork, leadership, problem-solving and people skills, and develop other talents to help you get ahead in your career.
- Healthier mind, Healthier body. Many studies have found that volunteering leads to better health. When you stop thinking about your own problems and focus on doing something else, your stress level starts to decrease, your immune system gets strengthened and your overall satisfaction level increases. People who volunteer have a lower mortality rate and have greater functional ability later in life than those who don’t volunteer.
- A lifetime experience. Volunteering in a new field (be it an NGO or an industry) helps you develop new knowledge and switch fields when needed. It helps you create positive impression, makes you more innovative and gives you a range of useful experiences to acquire new positions of your interest. The British Council released a study that centered on how international experiences benefits individuals and employers.
- Spread love. Admittedly, love is a hard thing to measure. But when researchers at the London School of Economics examined the relationship between volunteering and measures of happiness, they found that the more people volunteered, the happier they were. It also builds empathy, strengthens social bonds and makes you smile — all factors that increase the feeling of love.
Besides these benefits, volunteering opportunities provides you with a real-world experience, makes you be part of an impact or change, encourages you to give back to a cause you believe in, helps you to empower others, make new friends, become part of a community and gain a new perspective. If you have the passion and want to be part of a change, write us at info@worldanimalprotection.org.in or nishantgupta@worldanimalprotection.org.in.
We at World Animal Protection are looking for interested people who can volunteer to move the world towards protecting animals and make this world a better place for them.