By Jennifer Williamson, Volunteer Fairfax’s CEO
This seems to be the prevailing sentiment right now. Uncertainty about the economy, the job market, federal funding cuts, and what might come next. This is a difficult time, for nearly everyone and our region is feeling a disproportionate impact due to the high number of people who either work(ed) for the federal government directly or for a company that provides services to the federal government.
One thing I know for certain is that the need for volunteers is growing.
Volunteers are necessary, not just nice to have. The volunteer workforce enables charitable nonprofit organizations to serve exponentially more community members than they could without volunteers. Recent cuts to AmeriCorps are having a widespread and profound impact on our community and our country. I know of one organization that lost more than half of their funding last week as a result of these cuts.
The need for the services our friends and neighbors receive through volunteer powered organizations is increasing at the same time that federal funding and support for charitable organizations is being slashed. The need is great and increasing.
Everyone can volunteer.
If you’re reading this, you are almost certainly already volunteering your time, energy, and expertise in some capacity. Thank you. It matters. I ask you to invite at least one person you know to volunteer with you. The number one reason people volunteer is that they were personally invited to volunteer by someone they know. Please consider sharing with your friends, neighbors, relatives what you are doing to volunteer and encourage them to join you. Or if you’re looking for a new volunteer opportunity, there are literally thousands of opportunities. One way to identify volunteers is to visit Volunteer Fairfax’s website and click on the big blue “Volunteer Now” button.
In addition to providing much needed help to our community, volunteering has tremendous benefits to the individual who volunteers. Research has proven that volunteering is good for your physical and mental health. According to a paper from the Mayo Clinic, “Volunteering reduces stress and increases positive, relaxed feelings by releasing dopamine. By spending time in service to others, volunteers report feeling a sense of meaning and appreciation, both given and received, which can have a stress-reducing effect. Reduced stress further decreases risk of many physical and mental health problems, such as heart disease, stroke, depression, anxiety, and general illness. In addition, a Longitudinal Study of Aging found that individuals who volunteer have lower mortality rates than those who do not, even when controlling for age, gender, and physical health.