Volunteerism -How it Benefits the Giver

This week we look forward to celebrating our parents for all they have given to our school this year. There are so many ways our community supports our school and it’s amazing how much parents do on a day-to-day basis. Whether parents work or stay at home, they all want to help giving time and resources in the best way they can to a school they love.  These acts of kindness and give back speak volumes for the type of community we have. Children who see their parents supporting their school in different ways will see how much their parents value their school, their teachers and their education.  We all know that children model behavior that they see and what a great lesson to teach.

The school and students are not the only ones who reap the benefits of parent involvement.  You might be interested to read about benefits for the giver in a Forbes.com article, “Surprising Benefits of Volunteering”.

1. Volunteering time makes you feel like you have more time. Wharton professor Cassie Mogilner wrote in the Harvard Business Review that her research found those who volunteer their time feel like they have more of it. This is similar to other research showing that people who donate to charity feel wealthier. Said Mogliner: “The results show that giving your time to others can make you feel more ‘time affluent’ and less time-constrained than wasting your time, spending it on yourself, or even getting a windfall of free time.”

2. Volunteering your skills helps you develop new skills. In Mogliner’s experience, skills-based volunteering is an excellent opportunity to develop talents to help you get ahead in your career. In fact, an article in Stanford Social Innovation Review called skills-based volunteering overseas “the next executive training ground.”

3. Volunteering your body helps you have a healthier body. A Corporation for National & Community Service report noted: “Research demonstrates that volunteering leads to better health… those who volunteer have greater functional ability, and lower rates of depression later in life than those who do not volunteer.”

5. Volunteering your love makes you feel happier. When researchers at the London School of Economics examined the relationship between volunteering and measures of happiness, they found the more people volunteered, the happier they were. Volunteering builds empathy, strengthens social bonds and makes you smile. 

Thank you all for your support and for being such great role models!

Colette