The Importance Of Volunteer

As Albert Einstein once said, “Only a life lived for others is a life worthwhile”. For many of us, volunteering is simply just something we use to look good on a resume or a dreaded punishment that must be done; but the experience you get out of it is worth so much more. Volunteering really helps opens your eyes to the needs of the community while making a positive impact and empowering yourself to better your own life. There are many valuable life lessons that can be learned from volunteer work. Not only is it rewarding, it also creates many opportunities and opens doors that may not have been possible before. Over the past week, I had the pleasure of volunteering at our very own Mount Pleasant Discovery Museum. To be honest, before this service …show more content…
The authors state, “The most common volunteer settings for participants were organizations related to promoting health and wellness, serving children/delivering education, and reducing poverty” (Moore, Warta, and Erichsen 386). Generally, students tend to favor these volunteer activities since they are more closely related to an area of their interest. “Several authors such as Gidron studied sources of job satisfaction among volunteers in human service organizations, measuring overall satisfaction, content (intrinsic), and context (extrinsic) factors affecting satisfaction. Volunteers derived satisfaction from two content/intrinsic factors: the work itself and achievement” (Jensen and McKeage 177). Devoting many long hours to something you find dull and boring will just be a waste of time, make it worth your while. There are so many reasons why giving is so important: it is a way to show appreciation, say thank you, and show that you care. Unfortunately, there has been a decline in community service volunteer rates among college students. “According to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics (2013), 27.4% of those aged 16-19 were volunteering, compared to only 18.9% of 20-24 year olds” (Moore, Warta, and Erichsen 386). With these numbers continually decreasing, some organizations will not last without help from all the volunteers. Depending on if it is appropriate to the course, university professors could offer some type of extra credit for students who volunteer in a specific event. This will hopefully be seen as an incentive to not only earn a few extra credit points for class but to also give back to the community while increasing