Doing your part - and benefiting from it

Last week, communities all over Bay St. George, across the province and the country celebrated National Volunteer Week, as a way to celebrate and pay tribute to those who give freely of their time to help others.

The provincial government estimates there are about 197,000 volunteers throughout Newfoundland and Labrador that contribute 35 million hours annually of unpaid time to their communities and community organizations.

"This year's theme, Volunteers Connect Communities, represents the kind of impact volunteers can have when they come together for the betterment of their communities," stated Dave Denine, minister responsible for the voluntary and non-profit sector, in a release.

"I encourage all Newfoundlanders and Labradorians to take time, especially during Volunteer Week, to think about how much we depend on volunteers and non-profit organizations. They make the lives of people healthier, happier and provide a quality of life in this province that we have come to expect."

Fair enough. But if somebody hasn't volunteered before, or it's been long time since volunteering, the benefits of giving up free time to help others may not be readily apparent.

So, the Georgian went looking for a list of benefits of volunteering and came across such a list on the Volunteer Canada website. Here's a summary:

° Volunteering encourages and strengthens interactions amongst those living in the community;

° Helping others helps reinforce the sense that a person's life has a purpose, which helps motivates self-esteem and better lifestyle choices;

° It may also help people find new meaning in their life, especially as people age;

° The group say volunteering helps create social capital, which they describe as a "kind of currency for healthy living and grows when people in the community are involved in civic activities and earn the trust and cooperation of others."

In addition, volunteering helps a person maintain and improve their interpersonal and knowledge-related skills and talents. So when one looks at the big picture, volunteering benefits not only those being helped, but those doing the helping - everybody benefits.

And now that spring is here and the days are getting longer, it's a good time to call up that local group or organization and see if they need any help. Perhaps it's only for a couple of hours during the week or month. Or maybe more, depending on what you can offer or what the group needs. Can't think of a place or group that might need your help? Check out the Georgian's community calendar - there are plenty of activities and various organizations' information listed there that could help you find the best way to turn your talents or time into a positive experience for somebody else. And who knows, you might be the one who'll be the all around better person for it.