The mental health benefits of Volunteering

Whilst working for Wirral CVS, I have been made aware, through personal experience and the experiences of other people, of the many benefits that come through volunteering.

Some of these benefits were especially highlighted to me through the ‘You Can Volunteer’ scheme run by the organisation which catered for voluntary work in a wide variety of sectors across the Wirral. To be specific, there are more than one thousand voluntary opportunities with hundreds of organisations in the Voluntary, Community, Faith and Public sectors across Wirral and nearby areas, meaning that you can volunteer in Administration, Sport, Mentoring and many other types of work. On a national level, there is Volunteering England and the CVS are based across England.

Some of the benefits highlighted include, but are not limited to :

• Helping your community

• Improve your employability

• Meet new people

• Learn new skills/gain qualifications

• Improve your confidence

• Have fun

• Improve your health

• Use existing talents and skills

• Challenge yourself

Mental Health

In terms of mental health I have found voluntary work to be good for my mental well being over the last few years. One excellent aspect of voluntary work I believe is that it ‘gets you out of the house’ and mixing with other people who can also be a source of social support for an individual.

A sense of purpose is something I have benefited from, knowing that on a particular day I will be volunteering and for me it was something to look forward to. I have found it to be a good way of dipping my toe in the water in order to assess a type of work and its suitability whilst also gaining greater self-belief in my skills and abilities.

Recognition

It is also good to be recognised for voluntary work - on completion of 100 hours of voluntary work, volunteers are invited to an awards ceremony where they are presented with a certificate by the Mayor. I certainly enjoyed the awards ceremony when I went in 2010.

Something that I have come across in the last few years on Wirral Mind courses is Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. I would argue that voluntary work can tie in with some of our human needs in terms of our social needs, in that whilst volunteering, we normally mix with other people. Our self-esteem needs can also be helped, for example, with the recognition that comes from attending the aforementioned ceremonies at the Floral Pavilion which occur for volunteers each year.

Connection

A volunteer once said to me that through volunteering she saw many people she volunteered with as friends and friendship can be an important determinant of health, as Professor Richard Wilkinson argues in his book, ‘The Spirit Level’, which examines the role of equality vs inequality on societies across the world.

I’ve volunteered over a number of years for different charities and groups, which has been very rewarding meeting many inspirational people in that time. If you haven’t volunteered before it’s definitely a great thing to consider as it has a whole range of benefits. Personally, it has given me a lot of social connection, a sense of achievement and a real sense of purpose feeling that I can make a big difference to people in the local community. The rewards of volunteering can be massive and life changing.

So during this year's Volunteers Week it's especially important for people to remember the community connections that can be fostered through volunteering and the difference this can make to people's lives.