There is no doubt that successful organizations are strengthened by their volunteers. When someone volunteers they create a greater sense of belonging and certainly become more familiar with the various aspects of the organization. But did you know that volunteering also creates positive health benefits?
Over the past two decades we have also seen a growing body of research that indicates volunteering provides individual health benefits in addition to social benefits. This research, which is presented by The Corporation for National and Community Service in a report titled “The Health Benefits of Volunteering: A Review of Recent Research,” has established a strong relationship between volunteering and health: those who volunteer have lower mortality rates, greater functional ability, and lower rates of depression later in life than those who do not volunteer.
Comparisons of the health benefits of volunteering for different age groups have also shown that older volunteers are the most likely to receive greater benefits from volunteering, whether because they are more likely to face higher incidence of illness or because volunteering provides them with physical and social activity and a sense of purpose at a time when their social roles are changing. Some of these findings also indicate that volunteers who devote a “considerable” amount of time to volunteer activities (about 100 hours per year) are most likely to exhibit positive health outcomes.
Those who volunteer feel a distinct sense of pride when sharing their talents within the community. There is no doubt that when we give of ourselves, we receive so much more than we ever expected.
Temple Bat Yam invites you to share your time and talents to enhance our congregational community. Whether you have many hours to offer or just a few now and then, your efforts will not go unnoticed and will certainly be appreciated.