Volunteering for Good

When you do good, you feel good. This is the response I hear most frequently from volunteers when asked why they choose to donate their time to a non-profit. The donation of time is one of the most valuable contributions a non-profit organization can receive, but also it provides intangible benefits to a volunteer’s well-being.

Pride, belonging, friendship, they are part of what make up the feel-good factors that keep volunteers coming back to serve. COVID-19, while it radically disrupted volunteerism, it did not bring the end of it or it’s feel-good factors. Instead, volunteer efforts have seen a national enthusiasm.

It is the sense of solidarity and importance that service generates and continues to make it beneficial to a volunteer’s well-being especially during a time of crisis.

Over the past year everyone has experienced some degree of change in their lives. Perhaps felt out of control (helpless even) due to isolation, events in their lives, and lack of access to technology. It’s during these times that volunteering provides comfort and purpose.

It seems counter-intuitive that during a pandemic people would want to come together, but I’ve found that people (more than ever) want to find a way to feel good when they are bombarded with such intense sadness.

Doing good by collaborating with others on a shared goal, such as organizing drive through food pickups, or delivering meals creates the satisfaction people are looking for.

There is an immediate visualization of the impact you have in the community. That tangible outcome elevates a volunteer’s sense of overall happiness. 

Volunteerism is more than just having an activity to look forward to, it is the social engagement that volunteerism provides that makes it so valuable. Social calendars are planned around shifts, new skills are learned from staff and shift partners, as well as the ability to build confidence and self-esteem.

It’s not just physical health that suffers from lack of stimulation, but emotional and mental as well. The good feeling that is anticipated after volunteer work, requires the act of doing something. For vulnerable populations of volunteers, it has been most challenging to find ways to be of service that still felt as emotionally satisfying, given many could no longer be physically present to see the impact of their work.

Efforts to keep older generations of volunteers engaged in a meaningful way pivoted to letter writing, participation in virtual events, and phone calls. If the continued perception of what they are doing matters, then the satisfaction of the task will remain. 

 While tasks and expectations for how to be of service have been altered over the past year, volunteerism continues to be a prevailing factor in boosting social well-being as a time of crisis because it simply make people feel good.

Author: Bryanna Tramontana, Manager of Volunteer Services at Ronald McDonald House Charities