Why Volunteer?

• Help the community and others. Helping others usually comes to mind first when people think of volunteers. But as you see when you read deeper in this list, their motives aren't always this simple.

• Increase self-esteem. Volunteering makes people feel better about themselves. Giving a few hours a week, or even a month, to an organization creates good feelings.

• Help out friends. Friends are often the first people we turn to when we need help. Volunteering also can create a great way to get together with friends on a regular basis.

• Make new friends. Volunteering is usually a social activity. People use this opportunity to meet interesting people who share their interests and values.

• Try out a job. People considering a job in the nonprofit sector often discover that volunteering is a good way to get a peek at what happens on the inside.

• Polish their resumes. Adding volunteer experience to a resume shows a commitment to helping others or to working in a particular field.

• Develop new skills. A volunteer job often gives people an opportunity to learn how to do something they didn't know how to do.

• Enjoy something they love. Many volunteer jobs come with intrinsic benefits for their participants. Ushers at the symphony get to hear the music. Gardeners removing invasive plants from a native plant preserve get to spend a day in a beautiful natural setting.