Whether you are looking to improve your community or just need an opportunity to meet new people, there is a place for you to volunteer. Community service offers a variety of benefits for those who participate.
For college students, community service can be an excellent way to build leadership and communication skills. Many schools also require students to complete a certain amount of volunteer hours.
Improve Your Health
Community health services seek to address the underlying issues that cause poor health. For example, if an area lacks access to fresh and affordable foods or has no doctors available, this will affect the health of residents. By offering education and outreach, community health initiatives try to change this.
These efforts have led to a reduction in opioid deaths and helped stop HIV infections. Community health centers also work to improve overall wellness by providing medical, dental, and mental healthcare services. In addition, they offer nutrition programs, health insurance enrollment, translation and transportation assistance, and housing services.
Volunteering helps reduce the risk of heart disease, lowers blood pressure, and alleviates depression. It also promotes healthy eating habits and a strong sense of belonging. A strong community can also help prevent substance abuse and homelessness. This is because volunteers know where to find help when needed and are more likely to eat healthy meals, exercise regularly, and get enough sleep.
Build Your Relationships
The opportunity to meet people from all walks of life by participating in community service gives you the chance to build and strengthen relationships with local residents. The old saying “It takes a village to raise a child” is true for building communities, too. Community service teaches us to value the opinions of our neighbors and make them feel included in the decision making process.
The work environment in most community service projects fosters close bonds between volunteers, especially if they’re working together on a long-term project. As a result, these connections can last well beyond the duration of the particular project or event.
Developing these strong community relationships can be important for businesses, too. For instance, Stora Enso’s sustainability director points out that he has found that “community engagement requires long-term commitment and budgeting, staffing, and resourcing.” This helps to establish the trust needed to promote positive change in the community. Also, it can help a company develop relationships with adjacent communities that may have differing views on an issue.
Learn New Skills
Many community service initiatives teach participants new skills, such as how to work with people from different backgrounds or how to solve complex problems. This helps volunteers gain skills they can use in their careers. For example, if a volunteer works at a homeless shelter, they learn to communicate effectively with people who have different needs and perspectives. They also gain experience working as part of a team to accomplish goals.
In addition to learning new skills, volunteers also learn how to be selfless and put aside their own desires in order to help others. This teaches them to think of others before themselves, which can benefit their career and personal life.
For these reasons, community service can be valuable for anyone, regardless of age. However, students can especially benefit from participating in community service. This is because volunteering can help them build resumes, prepare for job interviews and get work-related experience before graduation. Additionally, they can learn new skills through service-learning, which is when students combine service with classroom instruction.
Gain Experience
Community service is an excellent way to get experience in the field of work that you want to pursue. For instance, if you’re thinking about becoming a social worker, community service can give you hands-on practice working with people in different situations. It can also help you develop skills such as communication, planning and problem-solving that are necessary for the job.
Volunteering is also a good way to meet new people. This can be particularly beneficial for introverts who might have difficulty meeting and making friends in other settings. For instance, you might find yourself volunteering in a soup kitchen or animal shelter where you’ll work closely with other volunteers. This can give you the opportunity to learn about their lives and cultures, which can make for a more well-rounded worldview.
Lastly, community services can help you become more selfless and learn to think about others before yourself. This is an important lesson that can be applied to many other areas of life.