Volunteering vs. Loneliness

Volunteers have more friends. The Corporation for National and Community Service's Volunteering in America survey can back me up on this bold hypothesis of mine. According to this research, "volunteers trade of more than an hour a day of TV watching in order to engage in service." In addition, people who volunteer are three times more likely to participate in community organizational activities (such as church, social groups, team sports) than non-volunteers. What's more, 78% of volunteers eat their meals with others (just 70% of non-volunteers can claim this to be true). Don't let yourself get to a lonely place with just a TV set for company. Sign up and become a volunteer now.

Anna Schulz is a member of the flex program and a volunteer blogger for Volunteer San Diego. She also writes for her family blog, The Full Catastrophe.

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Volunteering Is Good For My Waistline and Budget

I have just returned from the lunch service at St. Vincent de Paul as a part of VSD's "Feed the Homeless" Flex project. My friend, Judy Larkins, has been the volunteer leader for this project for the last five years. I was excited to see Judy and get a little volunteer time in as well. Judy & I did have a quick minute to catch up, but then we got very, very busy serving lunch to hundreds of people. People interested in participating in fast-paced volunteering should definitely check out a future "Feed the Homeless" project, as part of Flex or the upcoming Hands On San Diego event. The kitchen staff and veteran volunteers do an excellent job organizing incredible amounts of food. Before I knew it, the last tray had gone through the line and two hours of volunteering had flown by me. Judy warned me that I'd be tired today and she was right.

I had initially planned to buy myself a little lunch after volunteering. I realized after serving several hundred homeless people that spending money on a lunch out was somewhat of a wasteful thing to do. Instead of spending money on fatty food in a restaurant, I made a simple meal for myself with the food I already had at home. I'll put a little extra money in the philanthropy budget this month and enjoy the pride in knowing that my volunteer experience has left me in a better physical, emotional, and financial state.

Anna Schulz is a member of the flex program and a volunteer blogger for Volunteer San Diego. She also writes for her family blog, The Full Catastrophe.

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