The Unexpected Benefits of Service

If you’ve ever done something nice for someone, you know the positive feeling it can give you. Most of us have experienced the feel-good benefits of volunteering—and we can all agree that lifting others lifts us too—but here are a few benefits of volunteering you may not have considered.

Volunteering is a great way to gain new skills. For example, you could learn to sew by making blankets for newborns, develop social skills by checking donors in at a blood drive, or gain experience in food preservation by volunteering at a food bank.

There are also many ways volunteering can get you to where you want to be professionally. You can choose service opportunities that will help you build important workplace skills, allowing you to land your dream job or further your career.

Service exposes us to new activities, experiences, and processes, so we become more knowledgeable and well-rounded when we volunteer. Choosing to learn and grow through service can help us make progress regardless of our circumstances in life.

Research has shown that individuals who volunteer have higher self-esteem and feel more grateful and hopeful. Helping others can help you feel better about yourself in at least two ways:

1. When you have positive interactions with others, your view of yourself improves. Connecting with others—even if only remotely through technology—helps you feel good about yourself.
2. Service can give you a sense of purpose, which makes you feel more confident. When you feel like you are making a difference in someone’s life, you see that your life is meaningful.

So, look for a way to serve someone else, and enjoy the extra boost of confidence.

Volunteering allows us to meet new people, exposing us to new backgrounds, new experiences, new opinions, and new beliefs. When we interact with people who have lived different lives from our own, we can broaden our perspective and strengthen our empathy for others.

So, what are you waiting for? You can volunteer any time and experience these benefits in your own life. Use JustServe to find a project that interests you. You can even find virtual service opportunities, such as reading to visually impaired individuals, transcribing documents, or writing a message of hope to someone.

As you experience the benefits of volunteering, post about your experience on social media. Tag @JustServe too so we can see all the good you’re doing!

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