Benefits of Volunteering

Volunteerism greatly benefits our community, but it also benefits the person volunteering!  You’d be surprised at all the benefits – just check out this list below:

Benefits to the Community
- improved quality of life measures
- support for our local nonprofits, including 25% of which have absolutely no paid staff
- increased service capacity (i.e. more meals served, more litter picked up, more books read to youth, etc.)
- the average value of one hour of volunteer time in Oregon is $17.33

Benefits to the Volunteer
- Learn or develop new skills
- Develop and interact with a new social network -  both personal and professional
- Improve your health – people who volunteer on a regular basis are proven to less likely suffer from heart disease, less likely suffer from depression, visit the doctor/hospital less often, and live over a year longer than non-volunteers
- Be a part of your community and making it a better place
- Students who volunteer receive higher grades and are less likely to drop out or get in trouble than students who don’t volunteer
- Explore new interests and hobbies
- Generate a sense of achievement
- Build your resume and boost career options
    - 73% of employers would recruit a candidate with volunteering experience over one without
    - 94% of employees who volunteered to learn new skills had benefited by getting their first job, improving their salary, or being promoted
- Setting a good example for your children – kids with parents that volunteer are 80-90% more likely to volunteer as adults than children without volunteering parents. 
- But mostly…..IT FEELS GOOD!

Volunteers

• Become a Volunteer
  • Give a Day Get a Disney Day
• Benefits of Volunteering
• HandsOn Projects
• Photo Gallery
• Volunteer Trainings
  • Mentor 101
  • Volunteer Action Training
  • Youth Volunteer Action Training
• Types of Volunteering
  • Youth Volunteering
  • Family Volunteering
  • 50+ volunteering
  • Court Referrals
  • Pro Bono Volunteering
  • Boards & Committees
• Volunteer Action Alerts
  • February 2010