Essay On Volunteering

The definition of volunteering is “a person who volunteers himself or herself for a service or undertaking” (). Volunteering comes in all shapes and sizes from picking up trash all the way to helping people find jobs. A common misconception of volunteering is that it only benefits those who receive attention from the volunteers, thus making people with genuinely selfless personalities being the only ones who volunteer. While this is true, it also holds false foundation. Everyone can and needs to volunteer, including the elderly. Volunteering helps the volunteer just as much as the people benefiting from it. The art of volunteering greatly helps the volunteer’s physical and emotional life. Volunteering can help improve existing skills and

For example, if someone spends time volunteering at the local pound, over time they will generate emotions to the animals they are helping. These emotions can make them treat their own pets better and even stray animals found with no home. When someone volunteers they are generally putting themselves in a rough spot. In these spots you can build incredible friendships and connections. Seeing what other people have to go through can reinforce everyday emotions like thankfulness and empathy. “Understanding community needs helps foster empathy and self efficiency” (tritonlink). When someone volunteers they are not only helping out the community as a whole but also themselves. When people can unite under one common goal everyone can benefit. From a football team to a country's government, when people unite to achieve something everyone benefits, not just the football team’s fans our countries people but also the team and government themselves. Volunteering can open people's eyes to the world and help them develop more emotions, but can also physically help the bodies of the

When these skills and emotions are added to someone, their physical health also increases tremendously. “Those who volunteer have lower mortality rates, greater functional ability, and lower rates of depression later in life than those who do not volunteer” (National). People can volunteer at all ages. Volunteering at an old age can get people up and moving out of their house and having daily contact with other people. The people that are willing to volunteer generally have everything in their life together. Volunteers always seem to be happy selfless people that want to share their happiness with other people. Calmness and a peace of mind can play a key role in a person's health. For this reason, most volunteers will in fact have lower mortality rates and depression. Volunteers also stay busy. The volunteers work ethic keeps them more functionable later in life. For example, if someone is sixty year olds and volunteers on a regular basis, it is common sense that they will be more healthy than a sixty year old that lives by themselves in a home. Their active lifestyle will greatly help their physical health. In conclusion, volunteering can actually help the volunteer’s physical and emotional body. They can learn great applicable skills that can be used in all scenarios. They also experience an increase in important emotions and such as empathy. Lastly, they even experience improved health like less depression and more