Volunteering Makes the Perfect New Year’s Resolution

Welcoming a new year offers a wonderful opportunity to make new choices and take new chances in life. Whether you reflect proudly on your many accomplishments in the past year or you can’t wait to turn a new page and look toward the future, the new calendar year is an opportunity to do the things that might have been on your back burner. If you’ve been thinking about volunteering for years or have been contemplating your resolutions for the New Year, consider volunteering in 2015!

Volunteering makes the perfect New Year’s Resolution because it creates a trifecta of great outcomes. Volunteerism has countless benefits to the community and also to the health and happiness of individuals who commit to volunteering.

Here are just a few reasons to sign up to volunteer today:

1. Volunteering has been linked with increased levels of happiness and decreased depression. A recent Huffington Post Article, Volunteering Could Boost Happiness, Decrease Depression And Help You Live Longer: Study, written by Sara Kondrath, PhD, outlines new research into the topic of volunteerism, health, and happiness.

2. People who volunteer report physical, mental, and emotional health benefits. Doing Good is Good for You: 2013 Health and Volunteering Study reveals key benefits of volunteering that make a positive impact on people’s health including feeling better mentally, physically, and emotionally.

3. Volunteers help create and support healthy communities.

Volunteering can easily become one of those back burner activities. The type of activity that always seems like a nice thing to do, but loses steam when it comes to reaching out and signing up.

Make volunteering a reality this year. Many organizations have made it easier than ever to find opportunities and sign up online. Visit https://jewishmuseummd.org/get-involved/volunteering/ to find out more about our volunteer opportunities and to sign up to become a volunteer at the Jewish Museum of Maryland.

There has never been a better time to commit to volunteering in the New Year. Help us at the JMM, to promote our mission and to help yourself.

 

A blog post by Volunteer Coordinator Ilene Cohen. The first Monday(ish) of every month she will be highlighting one of our fantastic JMM volunteers and sharing insights on volunteerism. If you are interested in volunteering with the JMM, drop her an email at icohen@jewishmuseummd.org or call 410-732-6402 x217! You can also get more information about volunteering at the Museum here.