Volunteering is a valuable and enriching experience that can be rewarding on many different levels. In exchange for their service, volunteers can gain many rewards, including a sense of fulfillment and purpose. Developing leadership and communication skills can also lead to a better job. If volunteering is something you offer as part of your business then even though growing your volunteer program can be challenging the benefits massively swing in your favour. Here are four of the big benefits that come from giving back through volunteering.

Impact Your Community

Volunteering allows you to affect the well-being of your community and those who live in it. According to writer and filmmaker Katharina Otto-Bernstein, volunteering can encourage dignity and compassion in your community. Your time and resources can go a long way towards improving the community in which you live, whether you choose to help people, animals, or the environment. Even if you feel like you are only contributing in a small way, you still may be doing something that can help someone change their life. It may be possible for you to volunteer even if you have limited mobility or would like to work from home.

Connect with Others

You can make friends and be a part of something larger than yourself while doing something positive for those around you. If you want to meet people and develop new friendships, getting involved in a local charity can help you connect with those who have similar passions. Those who feel shy or intimidated by group settings can make friends while focusing on tasks and helping others. Volunteering can also help you develop better social skills and interpersonal relationships.

Boost Your Health

Volunteering can make you a happier person and help improve your mood and physical fitness. There are some studies that indicate that it can ease depression by combating social isolation and increasing social connection. It can cause your self-esteem to improve as you accomplish tasks that aid the lives of others. Many volunteer jobs incorporate physical activity, which can improve fitness and cardiovascular health while lessening pain. Older adults may enjoy a lower mortality rate, better physical health, and more enjoyable relationships through volunteering.

Increase Networking Potential

Work experience and networking connections that are created by volunteering for a charity can be a benefit to your life in the long term. Not only can you include volunteer work on your resume, but the experience may lead to a job with the charity or those who also volunteer for it. You may be able to try out different kinds of jobs or industries to see which one suits you best. For example, if you are considering a career in healthcare, you can volunteer in a nursing home to get valuable job experience and learn more about healthcare careers. Volunteering for longer periods may increase your chances of gaining a higher level of experience and better skills.

Volunteering has a lot of benefits for those who do it. It has been linked to lower stress, improved mental health, and longer life expectancy. Getting involved in volunteer work can also benefit your career, so you never know when the skills you gain may be useful.

This year has been one of the most challenging, traumatic, and downright difficult for the vast majority of people across the length and breadth of the United Kingdom.

Self-care and the protection and nurturing of one’s mental health and wellbeing are now of even more paramount importance than ever before. With that being said, continue reading for the top four ways to treat yourself to some valuable ‘me’ time this Christmas.

1. Meditate

Up until relatively recently, all things related to meditation and spiritual peace and tranquility were largely reserved for those people who were wholly invested in that particular area. (Think feathered windchimes and organic, ethically sourced ponchos.)

These days, however, the art of and practice of meditation is now ultra-accessible to everyone. Taking just five minutes a day to lie down in a quiet room with atmospheric lighting and your eyes closed to clear your mind is one of the most effective ways to look after your mental health and personal psyche.
The best bit? Meditation doesn’t cost a penny!

2. Beauty Treatments

One of the most popular and wonderfully, relatively affordable ways to truly indulge after a long and stressful day is to attend a prestigious and professional salon, such as utopiabeautique.com, for a relaxing and truly indulgent beauty treatment.

There is a wide plethora of beauty treatments that all benefit you physically and of course, mentally, in a variety of ways. A selection of the most popular treatments in 2021 include, but are in no way limited to:

* Laser Hair Removal
* Hydra Facials
* Spray Tanning
* Massage
* Semi-Permanent Make-Up
* CBD Facial Treatments
* Spa & Sauna Sessions

3. A Seasonal Walk

Whether an autumnal walk in a local park wrapped in a chunky-knit scarf or a hot and tan-inducing saunter around the block in the summer sun, there are plenty of benefits to one’s physical fitness levels that taking just half an hour to go for a walk provides.

Additionally, however, the power of taking regular walks also enhances your overall mental health and wellbeing. Walking can benefit your mental health in the following ways:

* An improved quality and level of sleep
* Stronger levels of emotional endurance
* A significant increase in stamina and overall energy
* A reduction in levels of low mood and anxiety
* A counteraction to the development of SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder)
* A substantial increase in the ability to concentrate and focus

4. A Tasty Treat

Media and social pressures, not to mention the toxic, airbrushed quality of the photographs on social media all come together to make us all feel guilty when desiring and/or consuming a tasty snack.
Frankly, this is ridiculous.

Obviously, indulgent treats such as chocolate and sweets should indeed be consumed in moderation but, when considering one’s mental health and wellbeing, chocolate can actually be incredibly helpful.

Scientifically proven benefits to chocolate include improved cognitive reasoning, an increase in low mood, and the release of much-needed, positive endorphins.