If you’re interested in giving back and becoming more immersed in your community, few activities are better than volunteering. It’s not just about altruism, though. Research has shown that volunteering isn’t only beneficial to the community, but to the volunteer as well.
The Blue Zones Project, founded by previous New Albany Lecture Series speaker Dan Buettner that researches the lifestyles of cultures with longer-than-average lifespans, has observed the benefits of volunteering.
“Research has documented the positive feelings that surface during a ‘helper’s high,’” writes Editor-in-chief Naomi Imatome-Yun and journalist Elisabeth Almekinder in the article “Why Volunteering is One of the Most Powerful Things You Can Do for Your Health.” “Participating as a volunteer with others in a group cause boosts self-confidence and decreases the risk of depression, especially in the elderly population.”
Buettner and Blue Zones affiliates are not the only ones who believe in the benefits of volunteering, though. Just ask your neighbors here in New Albany how they feel about volunteering.
Healthy New Albany, Inc. offers many volunteer opportunities and serves thousands of residents each year. Whether volunteering at the New Albany Farmers Market, food pantry or one of the many Healthy New Albany events, there’s an opportunity for all interests and skills. Volunteer coordinator Bonnie Cram says volunteering can help boost the volunteer’s morale and self-esteem.
“It gives them a purpose, it gives them a sense of giving back,” she says. “It makes them feel better about themselves. When you help someone, you feel really good about yourself that you’ve done something. You’ve done something positive to help another person and your community.”
Angela Douglas, executive director at Healthy New Albany, says volunteering can give individuals new perspectives and inspiration in their own lives.
“Someone that might be facing depression or isolation or loneliness, if they go out and engage in a volunteer activity, it provides them some perspective on really how much they already have,” she says.
Not only has volunteering been shown to boost mental health for volunteers, it’s also been shown to have physical health benefits as well, including lower levels of stress hormones and lower hypertension risk, according to the American Psychological Association journal Psychology and Aging. Other research has demonstrated a range of benefits including decreased chronic pain and a lower mortality rate among people who volunteer.
Naturally, many of the volunteering opportunities through Healthy New Albany offer ways to get active while helping out in the community. Popular volunteer activities include helping with the food pantry, the New Albany Walking Classic, farmers market and community garden.
“It’s obviously a way to be physically fit, just because you’re moving, and, in the case of the food pantry, you’re carrying things up and down and unloading boxes and things like that,” Douglas says.
Volunteering also helps to build community connectedness. Volunteers meet like-minded people, are exposed to different cultures and learn new skills. The resulting community is one based on service and mutual support.
“I think the camaraderie that’s built, even among the volunteers, is really special,” Douglas says. “To be volunteering and of service to others together with a group of people, I think it’s life changing, so powerful for the human spirit.”
In New Albany, volunteers provide vital support in ensuring that services and events run smoothly. In addition to the best-known programs, that includes community cleanup events, the senior connections program, and Nourish cooking classes.
As the New Albany-Plain Local school year comes to a close, volunteers are essential to the summer meal program that packages and delivers groceries for families in the community. These opportunities and many more are available to sign up for on the Healthy New Albany website.
Plenty of volunteer opportunities exist outside of the Healthy New Albany umbrella as well. Volunteer opportunities exist locally through organizations such as New Albany-Plain Local Schools, the Miracle League of New Albany, Canine Companions and Wesley Hospice. New Albany residents are quick to support new ideas, too, Douglas says.
“People are so interested in jumping in and engaging,” she says. “You just make something up and decide you want to do something. I think, in about a few hours, you’ll have 100 people behind you.”
Find more information about volunteer opportunities at healthynewalbany.org/volunteer.
Maisie Fitzmaurice is an editorial assistant at CityScene Media Group. Feedback welcome at feedback@cityscenemediagroup.com.
