Make an IMPACT with Connection – Volunteering

IMPACT encourages you to connect with yourself, your friends, your family, and your community. Each month there is a different way to make a connection, and for April, the focus is on volunteering!
Volunteering is any act of giving your time with the purpose of supporting and strengthening others’ quality of life or the overall community. In addition to the valuable contribution that volunteering makes to the community, it has also been proven to have many benefits for the individuals engaged in volunteering. These benefits include opportunities to learn new skills, expanded social contacts, reduced stress, anxiety, and depression, decreased feelings of isolation, and a sense of belonging to others and your community.
With busy day-to-day lives, finding the time to dedicate to volunteering can be difficult, but volunteering doesn’t always have to include grueling hours or a long-term commitment. Volunteering can be done in a variety of ways that suit your lifestyle, whether that is traditional methods of volunteering or more non-traditional methods. When you think of volunteering, you may not realize the extensive possibilities that can be included in this role. For example, volunteer your time by putting your crafting skills to the test and challenge yourself to create needed items such as winter items (mittens, toques, scarfs), blankets and stuffed animals to donate to local organizations and shelters. This is one way to volunteer in a non-exhaustive way while still greatly helping those in need (plus crafting can be great for improving your overall health and happiness!). If crafting isn’t your thing, perhaps you would want to try getting involved with local sports teams, a retirement home, or at the library.
While all methods of volunteering are beneficial, it’s important to choose the method that suits your lifestyle best. Before you pick what direction of volunteering you want to go, it can be helpful to spend some time discovering what causes matter most to you, what skills and experiences you have that you want to share, and what your level of commitment and availability are. The right volunteer role can help you find friends, connect with the community, learn new skills, and even advance your career. No matter how we choose to connect through volunteering, we can all reap the benefits. This April, we encourage you to go ahead and Make An IMPACT With Connection!