What is Volunteering?
Volunteering means giving your time and abilities to aid others (usually a nonprofit organization) without the want of financial compensation. Put simply, volunteering is a service to your community.
Helping others kindles happiness, as many studies have demonstrated. When researchers at the London School of Economics examined the relationship between volunteering and measures of happiness in a large group of American adults, they found the more people volunteered, the happier they were, according to a study in Social Science and Medicine.
Volunteering is also a great way to gain experience in a new field. In some fields, you can volunteer directly at an organization that does the kind of work you’re interested in. For example, if you’re interested in nursing, you could volunteer at a hospital or a nursing home. Your volunteer work might also introduce you to professional organizations or internships that could be of benefit to your career.