Hands On Atlanta Help Center | Why Volunteering is Good for your Health

Why Volunteering is Good for your Health

Tim

Last Update 2 年前

An Easy Way to Stay Healthy for Life

Did you put anything about improving your health on your New Year’s resolutions this year? According to Google in 2017, the most popular New Year's resolution search by far was “Get Healthy” with 62,776,640 hits.

There is no question that health-conscious living is on the rise, and - this won’t come as a big shock - our advice is to get out and volunteer!

Peace of Mind

Research done by the Corporation for National and Community Service has proven that Volunteering leads to:

Alleviation of stress and decreased rates of depression
Improved psychological well-being and functional ability

Greater self-esteem

People who suffer from mental illness may benefit the most from volunteering. It offers anyone a chance to have purpose, meaning, and new social connections they would not have had otherwise.

Mental health improvements come from the helper’s high that is achieved by serving other people. These findings are especially true for older folks who naturally have to deal with more health issues and loneliness.

Change in Perspective

We take most simple things for granted, like having food on the table or being able to walk. Working with people who are overcoming physical, emotional, or financial challenges can be life-changing experiences - FOR YOU! Perspective is incredibly powerful.

Your whole outlook on life can change for the better, even through just one volunteer experience.

Get Out There

Remaining active as you age can be hard! Fitness might not be the first thing that comes to mind, but volunteering is a great way to keep you moving.

As mentioned in Harvard Health Publishing, Carnegie Mellon University conducted research and found that adults over age 50 who volunteered were less likely to develop high blood pressure than non-volunteers.

There are plenty of Opportunities to keep your body in shape:

Gardening
Cleaning up garbage on a beach
Trail restoration
Teaching individuals with disabilities to ride a bike
A charity walk/ run
Equine therapy
Building projects

Here at Hands On Atlanta, we take pride in knowing that not only will organizations benefit from our volunteers, but that our volunteers will be rewarded by improving their own well-being.

Get going today at www.portal.goldenvolunteer.com