Around 80% of the total global population agrees that NGOs make it rather easy for one to be involved in contributing to positive social change and develop one’s own personal skills with the same. NGO volunteers all around the world contribute billions of dollars worth of work and millions of man-hours every year as the value of volunteers to NGOs is indisputable. Volunteers enable and promote organizations to improve and increase their capacity to achieve more than they would otherwise.
Volunteers offer their skills and work in every area i.e. area from fundraising and legal affairs to fieldwork and administration and try to direct as much of their skills and resources as possible towards their beneficiary communities through the help of NGOs to help build a better world. The number of people donating money to NGOs worldwide increased from 1.2 billion in 2011 to 1.4 billion in 2014 and it is expected that the number will grow to 2.5 billion by 2030.
However, many people quite perceive it incorrectly and consider volunteering as something that people do and indulge in either when they are younger or when they have retired and are left with lots of free time on their hands. But, these two groups certainly build up a huge portion of volunteers for an NGO as their schedules and availability of free time enable them to volunteer where people in full-time jobs may not be able to.
But people belonging to this group are the most skilled and best suited as they have more experience than the ones who require guidance. These set of people possess such experience as they often gain such qualities from their workplace that can be applied to NGOs that can help them out significantly and successfully.
A number of charities are run like businesses nowadays and hence need appropriate business skills and administration to run successfully. When people volunteer their time, NGOs save money and are able to support their cause more strong and better.
Volunteers for NGOs are valuable men and women and the time they contribute to volunteering for an NGO can put a financial value on their period of such service. The actual number varies from state to state but one thing that remains all-pervasive is people do it for a number of different reasons, but chiefly to assist different people or creatures and nonetheless, these devoted hours bring in a number of benefits to the volunteer which make it more rewarding.
Most of us who wish to assist those less privileged generally don’t volunteer, for the large part, since it is rewarding but for the fact that it helps to bring about and create a huge difference. And volunteering does bring in a subtle change in ourselves and puts us in advantageous positions when we offer ourselves to help others.
As we get more connected to other people we start to become less absorbed and get consumed by the regular stresses of our everyday life. When we discuss our experiences and share our anecdotes and emotions with other people we unknowingly do ourselves a favour. Sure, we all know that volunteering at NGOs makes us feel great and put us in a better mood…but there’s more than just meets the eyes. Did you know all this time that when you volunteer and indulge in such activities, you improve your own life and possibly even your own health? However, there are social, psychological, physical, and specialist perks in and about everything…
Here have a quick look at the 15 most overlooked yet simply amazing advantages you have been receiving from volunteering.
#1. Helps to build a better community –
A good person is capable of leading a good future and when you volunteer to help others and save them from their distress you reinforce your neighborhood and your social media once you start volunteering.
#2. Kills loneliness –
The feeling of loneliness can eventually drag a healthy person into depression. Not knowing or acknowledging the difference between having “Me Time” and being “lonely” can be injurious to your mental and emotional health. And studies have shown that one in ten adults accounts that they don’t have any close friends and this can be quite distressing.
And the easiest solution to help one out with this is? To volunteer!
#3. Improve social skills and activities –
When one mixes up, he can open up and as he does so, he doesn’t bottle up things anymore and becomes a light-hearted man as the advantages of volunteering appear fast and have long-term consequences socially. Social interactions are proven to enhance physical and mental health and as a result of frequent and constant interaction, it helps with better brain functioning and possibly reduced the risk for depression and stress and may also enhance your immune system.
#4. Help build quick bonds and friends –
When people communicate freely and engage in meaningful interactions then they can instantly click and build closer relationships, better relations, and stronger attachments to individuals. Being in a cooperating and harmonious relationship allows you to feel deeper connections with others and as you are put in a happy mood, you may live longer.
#5. Develop better emotional stability –
When individuals with conditions such as OCD, PTSD, or anger management issues offer themselves to volunteer, they feel more connected to other people and develop better emotional stability in the long run. Getting in touch with new people elevates their awareness of purpose and this in turn may diminish their symptoms and help them with an enhanced social role.
#6. Improved self-esteem
When people volunteer, they present themselves to the world of unknowns and thus establish better self-esteem. Individuals create self-esteem, assurance, and feelings of self-worth and thus help people to feel their worth and the meaning of their existence.
#7. Helps with mental illness –
People say “It’s all in your head” and they aren’t wrong about it. Volunteering significantly helps one with mental illness. Prison inmates are also made to do volunteer work and in a number of cases, the result has been positive. Studies have shown that when operating together with the dog offenders become calmer and comply dedicatedly to their rehab.
On a more foundational level, volunteering reduces strain and enhances well-being and as it does so, it makes the individual all the ways to become fitter, happier and, healthier, and as a bonus point, it keeps us young.
#8. Promotes Longevity –
Reports have claimed that people who volunteer over 100 hours each year are a few of the weakest people in the rest of the population. Sure small things do have impacts but long-term thing done more consistently has more benefits. And so the long-term volunteers are overall blessed with health as they live longer, are less prone to illness and have improved health.
#9. Reduced risk of Alzheimer –
Alzheimer’s has now become one of the most terrifying possibilities for countless people. However, a few studies have proven that individuals who volunteer might be at a reduced risk of Alzheimer’s as social support enhances elasticity in the mind and keeps it active and functioning.
Any form of social interaction helps delay or protect against Alzheimer’s as it nourishes the brain and keeps the connections in the brain active and properly functioning. We know no better way than to volunteer.
#10. Slow Aging
Getting out of the house more frequently, engaging more with others and getting involved emotionally helps one to feel good and age slow. Studies have shown that senior volunteers encounter the maximum physical advantage in their support and this could be because they feel energetic and participating contributes to more joy
Leading a life with cooperating promotes psychological health enhancements. Those who volunteer frequently and are chronically sick individuals have reported feeling fewer symptoms and pain and as per some studies, volunteering might reduce heart diseases.
#11. May lead to weight loss –
Shocking isn’t it? But yes you can reduce your stubborn belly fat while you are just “volunteering for NGOs” and how so?
we live a more sedentary lifestyle than ever before and grown-ups have now just become desk slaves and needless to mention how harmful it is for their health and posture altogether as it has no physical activity at all. The dangers connected with less everyday motion include back pain, diabetes, obesity, and more anxiety and psychological illness and this can eventually lead to feeling less energy and a considerably lower rate of metabolism.
However, volunteering is a physically demanding job, and we offer to volunteer, we walk around, indulge in physical movement, play with children, visit the elderly patients in a local nursing home and you name it all rather than just sitting in front of our screens and working fingers to bones in a crooked posture.
You might even opt to volunteer for programs that work and aim for more physical activity, like with youth sports programs or federal parks. And as there is a lot of physical movement involved, volunteers simply outlive others who just stay as couch sloths. They take proper care of themselves and keep on maintaining and looking after themselves, keep their weight in check, and eat and sleep healthy.
Volunteering is a two-way service where you help others and in the process help yourself as well. When you invest and spend your time and energy in volunteering, you invest an equal amount in yourself own yourself as well. Well in any regard it’s a win-win!
#12. Build interpersonal skills –
Devoting yourself to helping others through volunteering NGOs is a great way to develop your interpersonal skills, morale health, social consciousness and judgment. Doing so will not only boost your self-esteem but will also make you a great person capable of becoming a potential leader when needed.
#13. Better job prospects –
Research has shown that Millennials among the others generally a very few of those who become civic-minded and socially-aware workers. They select tasks that reflect their worth and continue to donate their cash time and techniques to improvise their skills and become a master in such an area.
And this civic-mindedness has turned into an advantage in the office. Adding anything related to volunteer functioning can showcase your abilities and also further shows your willingness for being cooperative in teamwork. Employers overwhelmingly seem favourable and prefer job applicants who have volunteering experiences added to their resumes.
#14. Suitable corporate titles –
Corporate philanthropy is a root concept of every business now and companies now produce employee volunteer applications to assist their philanthropic efforts to contribute to society. Several companies now encourage employees to dedicate a certain number of hours each year to support such works and doing so raises the likelihood that individuals will volunteer, even during their private time making them better people individually. This small change can also lead them to become more dedicated to their work.
#15. Adds fun and goodness to your dull life –
When you invest your time, energy, resources and skills into volunteering services, you add more parts to your life. Rather than living the same monotonous life, you split and contribute small things to others and sure it has amazing benefits as these small efforts of yours can change the life span of somebody else somewhere in the world.
But, volunteering is usually overlooked as a simple task that just adds pleasure, however, it’s always more than that…it unexpected brings to you the best stories, makes you feel emotions you hadn’t before, and makes you think things you might not have been aware of before, add new people to your life with great bonds, improve your physical and mental health overall, put you in a good mood, improve your longevity and perhaps develop new abilities by adding new skills on the way.
When you volunteer for NGOs you can develop yourself in more than a single way when you begin volunteering. You enrich in many ways as you grow along the way with a strong personal sense of value and energy. You develop exceptionally well leadership skills as you understand to consider everyone’s opinion without hurting their sentiments and make the best call in everyone’s favour. You learn how to be fair and unbiased. You get better at interactions as you deal with different types of people with varied natures and behaviors while keeping your emotions in check and learning new things along the process. Further, you become more aware of things culturally you learn each day a thing or two and meet a lot of great people along the way. You broaden your way of thinking and act with a sense of responsibility and more selflessly. And in the process overall you realize who you’re in the course and sure all the lessons you learn comes in handy and prove to be fruitful in all walks of life.
Also Read: 7 Reasons & Facts why our society must encourage girl child education