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Why Volunteer? The Benefits of Giving Back and How to Get Started

It's simple: People who help others are happier and live longer. Not sure where to start? Here's how to find the right volunteering match for you, so you can get involved with awesome opportunities right in your own community (12 Photos)

Jill Provost on Oct 29, 2012 at 10:14AM

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Why Volunteer? The Benefits of Giving Back and How to Get Started

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Volunteering Is Mutually Beneficial

Want to be more satisfied with life and less prone to depression? Volunteer! According to Idealist.org editor Allison Jones, research shows that volunteering not only makes you feel good, communities with high levels of volunteering have lower levels of unemployment. But sometimes it's hard to know where to start. "We all see problems in our communities, but what we don’t always recognize is that we have the power to change those problems and make them better,” says Robert Rosenthal, spokesperson for VolunteerMatch.org. “Most of the neighborhood institutions, like museums, fire departments, schools and hospitals came out of people coming together to solve local problems.”

Whether you have five hours or five minutes to spare, there are ways to help out and make your community better. Here are a few ideas to get you started.

Filed Under:
- Emotional Health,
- volunteering

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What kind of volunteer work do you do?