Why Should You Volunteer?

There are many easy ways to give your time to help others – from having a cup of tea with an elderly neighbour to helping out in your local area or making a regular commitment to volunteer with a charity or community group. Anyone can volunteer; it can be very rewarding and is a great way to meet new people, gain new or use existing skills to get experience and make a big difference to your community.

There are also the benefits to volunteering we often overlook. These include:

Build Self-Confidence and Self-Esteem

Volunteering increases confidence and self-esteem by providing you with new experiences and opportunities to utilise skills and knowledge and learn more from others in a comfortable and friendly environment with like-minded people. Volunteering is a softer approach to finding out about career opportunities and a good way to push yourself out of your comfort zone to try new things.

Helps Counteract Stress and Anxiety

Volunteering helps you get out and about in the community and interact with others which is helpful for combating stress and anxiety. Being around others and actively involved in the community or activities you enjoy will help you feel good, provide you with a strong sense of purpose and positivity, and encourage social interactions outside the role.

Meet People and Work Towards Common Goals or Interests

Volunteering provides opportunities to meet new people who you otherwise might not have had opportunities to meet. Many volunteers make life-long friends whilst volunteering and increase their social circle, try new things and have a close support network to help whilst volunteering or outside of volunteering.

Clear Understanding of Strengths and Weaknesses

Volunteering will help you identify strengths and highlight things you enjoy doing, which has several benefits, including increased self-esteem, confidence and clear indicators of what you might enjoy doing for work. It will also allow you to identify things that you find more difficult and provide you with opportunities to learn these skills, have time to practice and be supported by other volunteers or staff in the organisations; it’s also a great way to learn from others and seek guidance.

Provides Purpose For You, Your Peers and Your Community

Volunteering enables you to become part of the community and areas of interest or importance to you. Being part of these communities allows you to share your views, have a platform for voice, and share important things and action change for yourself or your peers to make a real difference.

Empowerment

Volunteering empowers individuals, gives them a chance and opportunities to make a difference for those around them and promotes positives.

Good For Your Mind and Body

Volunteering gets you out and about and gives you something to think about and focus on, keeping your mind and body active and moving. Volunteering will provide you will opportunities to get involved in tasks that help keep your body moving in a fun and different way, I.e., gardening, helping organise, and painting! It also encourages you to help others keep moving, get outside and enjoy the environment.

Sense of Community

It brings you close to the community and gives you opportunities to learn about the town and its people. Volunteering will allow you to meet people from all backgrounds and experiences and share your experiences to create and share heritage.

New Experiences and Opportunities

Volunteering for a charity opens doors that may have previously not been thought out or provide opportunities to visit or see places you may not have otherwise had, such as award ceremonies, meet people of “importance” or ambassadors, or visit places of interest or local heritage sites.

Suppose you’d like to make the move and get involved in Volunteering in your local community. In that case, there are various opportunities available in Crawley, which you can find on our website.

If you have an idea of the type of help you’d like to give, please email emily.thorpe@crawleycommunityaction.org.