Positive Benefits Of Volunteering

Volunteering is a hallmark in society today. People all over the world are volunteering, forgoing their time in order to help others. Despite being presented as a duty in our culture, a responsibility good people carry out, volunteering has several beneficial factors. What many do not realize is volunteering does not singly impact those being helped, it also provides tremendous benefits to the volunteers themselves. Many presume this significant service method has little impact on the volunteer, but it actually affects volunteers in ways beyond what many people in today’s culture expect. Although the positive impacts of volunteering are highly distinguished in society, few people are aware that serving others promotes emotional well-being,

When thinking of activities that make them happy though, many do not put volunteering on the top of their list. Surprisingly, volunteering not only contributes to the happiness all people strive for, it also provides dramatic improvement to overall emotional health. A study drawn from the Survey of Texas Adults 2004, indicated that serving others out of sheer altruism, genuineness, and humanitarian concern are exceptionally important in achieving better health. The serving process of volunteering provides unselfishness, sharing, other-directedness, and generosity. This is counteractive to the egocentric and self-serving culture that is popular in society today and can be potentially detrimental to both mental and behavioral health. Mental health research supports the importance of qualities such as generosity and gratitude for overall mental and emotional health (Yeung 6). Serving others provides many positive repercussions, specifically for emotional and mental health. This change to a generous and selfless mindset promotes positive emotions

These behavioral changes introduce an entire category of the outward impacts of volunteering. From positive conduct and actions, to a drive to help others in any way possible, the impact of volunteering on behavior is remarkably dramatic. In a study carried out by Edith Cowan University in 2016, it became apparent that experiences that occurred while volunteering changed behavior amongst volunteers, therefore reinforcing the idea of a drastic improvement in behavior due to helping others. This study aimed to go beyond the scope of previous research by analyzing two separate events, a golf tournament and a fashion show. As examinations took place for each event, it became obvious volunteering promoted confidence and excitement about giving back to the community. For many, the concept of volunteering had resonance; many showed increased excitement when they were passionate about volunteering for a particular event. Also, a number of volunteers believed that by being involved in the events, they were helping others and being valuable and worthy, as well as giving back to the community (Lamb 71). After analyzing each event, increased feelings of confidence and worth were common behavioral improvements in volunteers. The excitement and positivity volunteering brings on became extremely obvious through this study. Improvement in confidence and optimism contribute to