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C A L L F O R V O L U N T E E R S www.sunsetcenter.org/volunteer.htm volunteers@sunsetcenter.org Volunteering is often its own reward. Helping others can be just as ben- eficial to the people doing the helping as it is for the people being helped. Though it can some- times be hard to find time to volunteer, a close look at some of the various health benefits of volunteering may compel adults and children alike to find the time they need to volunteer. Volunteering and hap- piness Veteran volunteers may have long suspected they're happier when they volunteer, and research suggests that's true. A study from researchers at the London School of Economics that was published in the jour- nal Social Science and Medicine found that the more people volunteered, the happier they were. The researchers compared peo- ple who never volunteered to people who did, finding that the odds of being "very happy" rose by 7 percent among people who volunteered monthly. Those odds increased by 12 percent among people who volunteered every two to four weeks. Volunteering and men- tal health Psychologists have long known that social interac- tion can improve mental health. Psychology Today notes that interacting with others decreases feel- ings of depression while increasing feelings of well-being. Volunteering is a great way to meet The relationship between health and volunteering By Metro Create new people, exposing volunteers to people with shared interests. That can be especially valuable to people who are new to a community, helping them to avoid feelings of loneliness after moving to an area where they have no preexisting social network. Volunteering and long- term health Volunteering that requires social interaction can produce long-term health benefits that can have a profound impact on quality of life as men and women age. A recent study published in the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease focused on partic- ipants without dementia who were involved in a highly interactive discus- sion group. Researchers compared those par- ticipants to others who participated in Tai Chi or walking or were part of a control group that did not receive any interventions. The former group exhib- ited improved cognitive function, and MRIs indi- cated they increased their brain volumes after being involved in the discus- sion group. Larger brain volume has been linked to a lower risk of dementia. Many volunteering op- portunities require routine interaction with others, potentially providing sig- nificant, long-term health benefits as a result. While volunteering is a selfless act, volunteers may be benefitting in ways that can improve their lives in both the short- and long-term. Spending time with their families benefits children in myriad ways. Such quality time can strengthen bonds between parents and children, and one study from the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse found that frequent family din- ners make children less likely to use tobacco, consume alcohol and use marijuana. Volunteering is a great way for families to spend time together. Children of various ages can reap the rewards of volunteering, and those rewards may be even more significant when kids give back alongside their parents. Children's ages and maturity levels should always be considered when looking for a vol- unteering opportunity. The following are some family-friendly options parents can consider as they look to volunteer with their children. · Food drive: Participat- ing in a food drive is a great way for families to give back together. Kids of all ages can pitch in on a food drive. Parents can take children to the grocery store and let them pick items to donate. Kids also can accompany their parents to pick up donated items and drop them off at the local food bank. · Toy drive: Toy drives are popular come the holiday season, and children of all ages may enjoy picking items that they know will help to make the holiday season special for other youngsters. If toy drive organizers don't request specific items, ask kids which toys they would recommend or encour- age kids to donate light- ly used items they no longer use. Children are enthusiastic givers, and toy drives are a great opportunity to illustrate how good it feels to help those in need. · Park/beach cleanups: Human beings are stew- ards of the environment, so what better way to instill that lesson in chil- dren than to volunteer to clean up local parks and beaches? Kids will look forward to a day in the great outdoors, and they'll take pride in knowing they did their part alongside their parents to make their favorite green spaces and beaches cleaner for their communities. · Soup kitchens: In 2020, Feeding America, a nationwide network of more than 200 food banks, cited a study that found 67 percent of food banks were in need of volunteers. Many volunteers, a significant percentage of which Family-friendly volunteering opportunities By Metro Create Metro photo are seniors, stopped volunteering during the COVID-19 pandemic out of fear of catching the virus. The successful rollout of COVID-19 vaccines for adults and children over 12 has re- duced the risk of serious illness from the corona- virus. Though parents must consider various factors before volun- teering in the era of COVID-19, fully vacci- nated families can work with local food banks to safely offer their time. Such efforts can teach children valuable les- sons about the importance of giving back, and many food banks have altered their operations to make it safe for volunteers to lend a helping hand. Volunteering as a family can strengthen the bonds between children and their parents.

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