Invest In Yourself By Investing In Others
How Volunteering Can Enrich Your Life
“The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.”
– Gandhi
We are all familiar with the ringing bells outside department stores in the wintertime, the clipboard-carrying petitioners hunting the parking lots, and the annual community food drive to help support our neighbors. Volunteering opportunities are all around us asking for our time, our money, and sometimes our patience. You don’t have to look far to find a needy cause in search of its next volunteer or funder, as many of these organizations lack the funds and man/woman power needed to meet their goals.
The average person intrinsically knows the benefit of investing your time, attention, or a dollar or two to an important cause, and yet statistics show only about 25% of Americans today do so. So why is this?
According to “The Conversation” the top three reasons are as follows:
Lack of time
Lack of interest
Poor health
But as with anything, if you believe the payout to be greater than the cost expended, you will make enough of an effort to see the task through. We all lead busy lives, and we all have our challenges, so much sometimes that it seems we each could use a volunteer group to support US through it. Self-investment is pouring your time, resources, and energy back into yourself to correct the negative imbalance self-neglect causes. Putting in the work to self-assess, identify areas of concern, and heal. A mental triage if you will.
Women especially are fantastic at ignoring our needs until they become critical. Supporting everyone else before ourselves. What we (me included) need to keep in mind is there must be balance. Finding an equilibrium between the needs of others, and those of ourselves.
That in itself is what the true heart of community service is all about. Showing the kindness you yourself would want to your neighbor, be they across the street or around the world.
To further illustrate, the impact volunteering can have on your life here is a list of reasons why volunteering can enrich your life in ways other activities can try to but won’t have the same effect.
The Happiness Effect
“Helping others kindles happiness, as many studies have demonstrated. When researchers at the London School of Economics examined the relationship between volunteering and measures of happiness in a large group of American adults, they found the more people volunteered, the happier they were, according to a study in Social Science and Medicine. Compared with people who never volunteered, the odds of being “very happy” rose 7% among those who volunteer monthly and 12% for people who volunteer every two to four weeks. Among weekly volunteers, 16% felt very happy—a hike in happiness comparable to having an income of $75,000–$100,000 versus $20,000, say the researchers.”
-Western Connecticut State University
There is a simple and natural joy that comes from helping others. When you support a cause you love donating your time to a shelter or gifting food to those less fortunate, it can bring a sense of accomplishment and happiness that is wholly fulfilling. When we invest in others, lifting them up it reinforces the belief that each of us is worthy of effort and attention. You never know what impact you will have on someone’s life, how you could be remembered by something like a simple act of kindness.
Volunteering Connects You To Others
It is so easy to go through life, becoming increasingly overwhelmed with all you have going on that you forget to lift your head and see what’s going on around you. Especially since the 2020 outbreak, where social distancing became commonplace, people are even less connected than ever. Having to reemerge into society, and trying to relearn social graces is one thing, but taking into account the devastating effect Covid has brought onto some of us is humbling.
People went without work, lost homes, and fell into depression for lack of proper support. There are natural disasters every day around the world that shake the foundation of someone’s life. Some have a debilitating illness that isolates and crushes spirits. Others try to build a healthy future but are constantly impeded from their past.
Volunteering doesn’t always mean you have to join a large pre-established group or throw money at a cause you never actually physically take part in. It can be as simple as checking in on your neighbors, coworkers, and friends, seeing if they need a hand getting groceries this week. Helping someone move homes, sitting with the isolated coworker at lunch, inviting the single mom to brunch. I don’t mean to say volunteer in these examples in a derogatory way. Rather you voluntarily invest your time and energy in people, connecting to them by seeing to their needs. As my dad would say “simple acts of kindness make all the difference.” And in return, you get the chance to be around and connect with people in the best way possible.
Volunteering Can Change The Way You Think
I will use myself as an example so no one gets their feelings hurt, but make sure to do an internal check to see if this sounds like you. Sometimes when life gets busy enough or I get stressed enough, which is more often than I’d like, I can become blind. Blind to the plights of those around me, deaf to the calls of opportunity to help others, and afraid of stepping out to help someone on the street holding up a sign. I know it isn’t right, I want to do better but something always seems to get in the way and I become consumed with my problems again. This is almost comical considering my dad is one of the most selfless people I know. Founder of a volunteering group in Canada, for almost 20 years he has gone out to all parts of his community, helping people in big and simple ways. Helping countless lives for the better in real and impactful ways. Words cannot express how proud I am of him. He was even showcased in the Alberta News.
The act of kindness may be small, getting groceries, paying a water bill, singing in a nursing home, making meals at a soup kitchen, etc., but the impact is BIG. He has truly made a name for himself on the streets, where nowadays a day does not go by when someone cries out for his help and he answers. He is a true inspiration to me and is to whom I dedicate this post.
Praising my dad aside, through his inspiration I have seen how putting yourself out there, looking for where you can do good can change the way you think. Volunteering forces you to limit your ego, the part of you that wants all the attention whether it’s good or bad. When we start to ask “How can I help my fellow man today?”, that humility can open your eyes to all the blessings you already have in your life. Which makes you more appreciative of what you do have and stops that train of thought in its tracks that says “I am not enough” or “I don’t have enough” or “This is going wrong” etc. Whatever that hounding thought is, it can be dimmed when you look outwards rather than inwards.
While investing in yourself in the recycling of your efforts inwards, to be effective it must be in balance with those around you. One of the most beautiful parts of the self-investment journey is getting to share it with others. Seeing someone where you used to be and being able to help them through it, is a gift. When women, men, and children start to lift each other up, that’s when the world starts to become a better place.
Which is why I started In-nested. To share my journey with those who resonate with my words, and want to join in on the self-discovery and healing. I’m glad to have you here.
Community Service Can Be Fun
While not everyone’s first choice of leisurely activity, community service can be a fun outing when planned well. Getting a group of friends together to pick up trash along the highway, making competition to see who can get the most the fastest. Or singing fun work songs while you scrub dishes with your family at the local community center. Whatever the activity, it can be made into a fun memory with the addition of some energy and some laughs.
And you never know, you might just make a few new friends along the way! Volunteering is a great way to meet new people, especially if you are new to an area. It strengthens your ties to the community and broadens your support network, exposing you to people with common interests, and neighborhood resources, with fun and fulfilling activities.
Volunteering Can Teach You Valuable Job Skills
“Just because volunteer work is unpaid does not mean the skills you learn are basic. Many volunteering opportunities provide extensive training. For example, you could become an experienced crisis counselor while volunteering for a women’s shelter or a knowledgeable art historian while donating your time as a museum docent.
Volunteering can also help you build upon skills you already have and use them to benefit the greater community. For instance, if you hold a successful sales position, you raise awareness for your favorite cause as a volunteer advocate, while further developing and improving your public speaking, communication, and marketing skills.”
Volunteering allows you to practice and develop your social skills while you meet regularly with a group of people with common interests. Once you have momentum, it’s easier to branch out and make more friends and contacts.
At the very least, volunteering looks impressive on a resume, like you care about the world or something. 😉
Final Notes
The list could go on but I think you get the picture. Community service can be a fulfilling and life-enriching opportunity for self-investment. And the person on the other end that you are helping I’m sure appreciates it. If you are new to this and don’t know where to start, how to find groups to join, or where to go, the best thing to do would be to start locally.
Ask around your sphere of influence if anyone has experience volunteering and follow their lead if that opportunity sounds interesting to you. It is always best to start in a place where you feel connected. Beyond that here are a handful of places that usually have some kind of program going that you can join:
- Community theaters, museums, and monuments.
- Libraries or senior centers.
- Service organizations such as Lions Clubs or Rotary Clubs.
- Local animal shelters, rescue organizations, or wildlife centers.
- Youth organizations, sports teams, and after-school programs.
- Historical restorations, national parks, and conservation organizations.
- Places of worship such as churches or synagogues.
- Food pantries and food banks
- Retirement homes, hospitals, and homeless shelters.
- Disaster relief organization
If none of those feel like the right fit for you, then try creating your personalized group:
“Teens who fight against abandoned kittens”-Scour the neighborhood for abandoned kittens to rescue.
“No Grannys Left Behind”-Sit and read with a lonely granny in a nursing home.
“Hot cakes for the homeless”- Bake and deliver warm homemade goodies to those on the streets.
Okay, I completely made those up on the spot but you get the idea. Wherever feels right, tap into those gifts that you have and see how you can help change someone’s world with a simple act of kindness.
Until nest time,
