Volunteering means giving your time and using your abilities to help others without expecting financial compensation. Though it can be difficult to find time to volunteer when we have busy lives, volunteering can make a positive impact on our lives and on those people we help.
Volunteering can help you make new friends and connect with your community. Besides developing your social skills, you will also meet other volunteers who share your common interests and values. Being from different cultures, you can enrich each other’s experiences, create meaningful relationships, and help build a harmonious multicultural society.
Getting involved in volunteering helps with your physical and mental health. Studies have shown that volunteering can help reduce stress and anxiety. It is also a way to combat depression and increase self-confidence. According to research from the Max Planck Institute in Germany, the University of Chicago and the University of California in the United States, our primal instinct is not self-preservation, but compassion. This means it is innate in us to help others when we perceive suffering.
These are some of the things that volunteers talk about in their stories and which we explore in our podcast series:
Refugee Support Europe is a global community of 1,000+ volunteers from over 40 countries. We help refugees and provide them with much-needed material support while treating them with respect and dignity. For as little as two weeks, you can help transform and rebuild their lives. Across 5 countries, we have helped over 15,000 refugees to restore their dignity.
Volunteer with us and create the biggest positive impact on your life and society. This is the power of volunteering.
Thank you to Efmar Jerald Caguimbal for contributing this article.
