A Path To Happiness Through Volunteering

During the holiday season, more people think about giving to others than any other time of the year.  Although giving or volunteering should happen all year, if you have not volunteered before, then you need to start sometime.  Why not during this season?

My Memaw held a few jobs but her biggest job was being a wife and mother.  Because she was home often, she felt she had the time and resources to help others.  She helped her neighbors when they were sick by cleaning their home or making them dinners.  Once there was a homeless man who lived in his car and she would supply him with blankets and coffee on cold nights.  She also volunteered at the hospital as a “candy striper”.  I don’t know if they call the hospital volunteers that anymore but she would wear a uniform and visit patients.  She loved doing that every week and would come home with stories about the patients.  But she always said that it made her feel good, helping others.  She did that job until she died. 

I like to write a lot about happiness because people want it but they feel it is elusive.  It’s not!  There are just some things you can do to bring happiness, even for a little while, into your life.  My prior blog talked about doing something that brings you joy everyday.  Another thing you can do that can bring you happiness is doing things for others.  It can be small things, like helping your spouse with the dishes or holding the door for strangers.  It also can be big, like helping others through volunteering.  I think Memaw knew this because she passed the volunteer bug to me:)

Unlike having to do something every day, volunteering can vary in its time commitment.  You can volunteer when it works for you.  Maybe you can only volunteer one hour a week.  Some may be able to volunteer 10 hours a week.  It doesn’t matter how much time.  It matters that you do something for others and you enjoy doing it.

Because of Memaw, I volunteer in many different ways and they all require different time commitments.  One of my volunteer opportunities probably takes the most time commitment.  It is about 6-10 hours per month.  When I had decided to volunteer some of my time (I have a very limited amount of money), I thought about what I love and in what ways I wanted to help others.  I love animals, especially dogs, and all of our pets have come from shelters.  However, I knew I couldn’t volunteer at a shelter because I hate seeing animals in cages.  I also knew that my available time varies from week to week, so I couldn’t commit to a schedule.  Then one day on Facebook, I saw an organization called Citizen Canine Senior Rescue.  They fostered and adopted out dogs who were 7-years-old or older (senior dogs).  They were not a brick and mortar place.  All their dogs were fostered by kind individuals.

I answered their ad and talked to one of the owners of the organization, Karina.  I couldn’t foster because of my 2 dogs and 6 cats but Karina told me other ways I could help–like taking the dogs to the vet and help keep track of their medical records online.  Since I love to drive and I am still pretty good with technology, it was a match made in heaven.  I have been with Citizen Canine for over a year and I still greatly enjoy helping in any way that I can.

So, the big question you must be asking…how does volunteering increase MY happiness?

If you were like me, when I thought about volunteering, all I could think of was that I would be adding one more thing to my already-overflowing-plate.  I’m trying to reduce the stress in my life–not add to it by making one more commitment.

Believe it or not, when you volunteer, it actually HELPS alleviate some stress!  But how?  Let’s look at it from a “developmental” lens.

Volunteering helps you physically. 

Yup, research shows that when you volunteer, it increases the amount of endorphins in your body.  It is called a Helper’s High.  It decreases your blood pressure because volunteerism is associated with lower levels of stress and increased physical activity.  Finally, you may even get better sleep because of the decrease in stress.

Volunteering helps you socially.

Socially, when you volunteer, you meet new people and make new social connections.  This can lead to making new friends and having less feelings of loneliness.  Then a domino effect occurs–this social network can improve your social skills, give you a feeling of purpose, and of being part of something.  

Volunteering helps you psychologically.

Finally, volunteerism does a lot of good for your mental health.  Besides lowering the levels of stress and increasing the sense of belonging, it also makes you have less feelings of depression.  After all, you are helping others and it is hard to be depressed about that.  It can also build your self-confidence and self-esteem and give you a sense of accomplishment.  You are making a difference.

So, I’ve made my case that volunteering will bring you many things, including happiness.  But how do you go about it?  Here are a few things to think about when you apply to volunteer:

1.  How much time can you commit?  Be realistic and don’t overdo it.  Remember, this is to help alleviate stress, not create more.  Start small and then you can always increase.  Maybe an hour a week would be realistic.

2. What are some ways you would like to volunteer?  Even in Citizen Canine, there were so many ways to volunteer–fostering the dogs, doing home visits for prospective fosters and adopters, walking the dogs with “Adopt Me” vests in public places, etc.  Find what works best for you and your interests/passions.

3. Is there an organization you are already part of that you can also volunteer at like your church, mosque, or synagogue?  Some companies sponsor “volunteer days” so you can help out at soup kitchens or food pantries.

4. Do you have a special skill that can be used for volunteering?  For example, maybe you are handy and can help build homes or install playgrounds for those in need.

5. You can also donate money, donate goods, serve on boards of different charities, or give blood.  All of these are examples of thinking of others.

It doesn’t matter what you do, just do something or give something to help other people, animals, whatever.  When you help and think of others outside of yourself, I promise you–you will get back a lot more than what you give.

It is almost indescribable what you feel by helping others.  Go online, find some way for you to help, and do it.  You will never regret it and that happiness you think is unattainable will become part of who you are.  What do you have to lose?

I obviously talk about the Citizen Canine organization a lot in this blog.  Here are two more plugs about them.  The first link is an article in the paper about them that I participated in.  The second link is to their website.

https://www.rblandmark.com/2024/10/08/citizen-canine-gives-senior-dogs-a-second-chance-at-life/ 

https://www.citizencaninerescue.org/