Volunteering makes me happy

[Peace]

I have come to realize that I love to volunteer. Doing things for others is a positive experience for me, and helps me to meet other people. Because there is no expectation of compensation, there is no let down and also no pressure to perform. Anything that I do is better than what is not done, so it is always good enough. It is something that the greedy, corrupt government cannot track and take away from.
It started when I was a kid. I used to randomly cut peoples lawns and shovel peoples driveways of snow. When I got older and had kids, I was the Room parent. I went in to help out in the classroom and chaperone on field trips. When they got older and joined sports and clubs, I helped out fundraising and setting and cleaning up. Now I have a number of activities that I volunteer for, and they bring me peace and enjoyment.
Want to be happy for an hour, go watch TV
Want to be happy for a day, go to an amusement park
Want to be happy for a lifetime, go out and help others
~Unknown~
Is there anyone else who feels this way, and if so, what are your thoughts and motives.

 

[Sparticus]

I won an award in 8th grade for writing an essay on how volunteering helps society. But it wasn't until I was in the job market when I learned that volunteering was a good way to network, learn new job skills, learn about different jobs or get a better one. Plus I was interested in the non-profit world. So I volunteered for so many organizations before & during I was married that my father, mother & brother begged me to stop! Volunteering helps others, changes our focus, our worries, lifts depression & we get so much out of it besides meeting some great people.

During several of my volunteering activities I got to meet WW2 Veterans & their wives, socialized with them & learned a lot from them. For the past few years I've been volunteering helping local people out. Recently I started a new volunteering activity & I'm glad to be able to help out some people. In the past others have helped me & I'm just paying it forward. Is there any area or population group that you especially like to volunteer for? Thank you Peace this is a great topic!

 

[AGXStarseed]

I've done a bit of volunteering in the past, with mixed results.
The first time I ever did volunteering was before I'd even finished school. I went to a club not far from my house and found out they were doing fun sessions with young children. I'd only gone over to see what was happening but joined in with helping the staff, who I knew from school, and soon I would be going there all the time to help out - enjoying it a lot. I had to stop eventually as the school put up a fence that blocked my only way of getting there.

The second one was where I worked at a library for one morning a week, teaching the elderly how to use the computers; from using the mouse and keyboard to surfing the internet, using email and printing what they wanted such as pictures, etc. When I wasn't doing that, I was putting books away or doing any other general task.
I had to stop that for a while to do voluntary at a place that produced low cost and environmentally friendly commercial services. I worked there for two full weeks then an extra 4 days over 4 weeks. All in all,that one was okay but I preferred the library volunteer job, which I went back to afterwards.
Later - while still doing the library job - I got a secondary voluntary job at a charity shop, where I was sorting stock out and basically doing general tasks. It was okay.

Since finally getting a paid job, though, I've had to give up both my voluntary jobs - which was a shame but I guess all good things must come to an end.

 

[Blade_Runner]

Volunteering is great and I find it incredibly rewarding and fulfilling. I'm currently helping out at my local library as a computer buddy for people who need assistance with using tech. It's so nice to see people returning week after week and see them improve. And also, it helps me build confidence in social situations...it's win-win

 

[Florence K]

In a way I've been volunteering all my life. Although the first 30 years of it I would have been more inclined to call it helping out. I really wanted to help people and for them to be pleasantly surprised that I had done something for them (or even for it to have been done without them knowing it was me). When I was small there was no better way to motivate me than to say 'Shall we surprise so-and-so by getting this done before they come back?'

Now most of what I do is volunteering, but that is simply because I haven't found funding for it yet. I have to takes breaks to earn money to live on and to fund projects, but other than that all my time goes to improving care in orphanages. But for me that is not about volunteering, somehow, it happens to be unpaid.
I've been asked quite often (particularly by religious people) something along the lines of 'When did you decide to dedicate your life to serving others?' The answer is 'never'. I have made the entirely selfish decision to do what I love doing more than anything else. This happens to have a beneficial effect on the survival and life quality of orphans and abandoned children and it happens to come with no salary.

That is not to say that I have anything against people who go out to find volunteering work, in fact I hope some of them will find me and will want to help out. It is just not how it worked out for me.