Top 10 Reasons to Volunteer
- It’s fun! Whether you volunteer by yourself or with your family and friends, serving others and your community will bring laughter and smiles into your life.
- Personal growth: By taking on new tasks and challenges you will learn more about yourself and other people.
- Fulfill your required community service hours: Volunteering will not only help others and your community, it can help you meet your school requirements!
- Spread positive energy and hope: Just like random acts of kindness, when you volunteer, your energy and efforts affect the whole community.
- Gain new skills and develop talents: Many of your interests can be developed through volunteering.
- Meet new people and make friends, connections and references: When you work with others, you really get to know them! The adults you work with can connect you to great opportunities and provide you with letters of reference for jobs or college.
- Enhance your college applications: Colleges and universities today are looking for applicants who have more than high grades. They are looking for well-rounded people who have volunteered to make a difference in their communities.
- Meet real community needs: Whether the project is planting a tree or tutoring a child, your volunteer work will help the community look and feel better.
- Improve your health and self-esteem: Volunteering has been shown to reduce stress and boost your self-esteem.
- Gain work experience: The volunteer work you do can help you build skills for future paid employment. Volunteer experience looks great on a resume.
Adapted from Volunteer Resource Center, Minneapolis, MN, 2001 www.volunteertwincities.org
Did You Know?
These celebrities participate in service!
- Aerosmith - Aerosmith Fund & Aids Action Committee
- Bette Midler - New York Restoration Project – Cleaned 275 Acres of park land in NYC
- Dolly Parton - Dollywood Foundation – Imagination Library Program
- Elton John - Elton John Aids Foundation
- Gene Wilder - Gilda’s Club-Support for people with Cancer
- Jewel - Higher Ground for Humanity and Diversity Works
- Jimmy Buffet - Save the Manatee Club – Data gathering and research endangered manatees
- Julia Roberts - Helps children in Haiti & the Literacy Fund
- Justin Timberlake - Justin Timberlake Foundation & a member of the Giving Back Fund
- Michael Jordan - Boys and Girls Club of America & Special Olympics
- P-Diddy - Runs NYC Marathon to raise money for children in need
- Pierce Brosnan - Cancer Research Supporter
- Richard Gere - Richard Gere Fund and International Campaign for Tibet
- Tiger Woods - Tiger Jam – raises money for children’s charities