With busy lives, it can be hard to find time to volunteer. However, the benefits of volunteering can be enormous. The more you volunteer, the more benefits you will experience. Of course, volunteering does not have to involve a long-term commitment or take a huge amount of time out of your busy days. Giving in even simple ways can help those in need and improve your health and happiness.

One of the better-known benefits of volunteering is the impact on the community.   Volunteering allows you to connect to your community and make it a better place. Even helping out with the smallest tasks can make a real difference to the lives of people, animals, and organizations in need. And volunteering is a two-way street. It can benefit you and your family as much as the cause you choose to help with. Dedicating your time as a volunteer helps you make new friends, expand your network, and boost your social skills.

Volunteering provides many benefits to both mental and physical health. Almost everyone has to fight against stress, anger, and anxiety. The social contact aspect of helping and working with others can have a profound effect on your overall psychological well-being. Nothing relieves stress better than a meaningful connection to another person. Working with pets and other animals has also been shown to improve mood and reduce stress and anxiety.

Volunteering can also advance your career. If you’re considering a new career, volunteering can help you get experience in your area of interest and meet people in the field. Even if you’re not planning on changing careers, volunteering gives you the opportunity to practice important skills used in the workplace, such as teamwork, communication, problem solving, project planning, task management, and organization. You might feel more comfortable stretching your wings at work once you’ve developed these skills in a volunteer position first.

Thus said, volunteering means donating your valuable time, so it’s important that you enjoy and benefit from your volunteering. It brings you benefits in a number of ways, but it doesn’t have to take over your life to be beneficial.

My best friend's mother was a social worker in Detroit, Michigan.   Because of that, my friend Victoria and I were introduced early to the world of volunteering.

We did plenty of charity(慈善) work.   We always had a good time, and continued to volunteer whenever we had time, often even when we didn't.   It became second nature.   Hairstyles came and went, but Victoria and I found places to donate our time because that's how we were raised.

One particular morning we signed up for "Paint the Town",an organization in Detroit to help low­income homeowners clean their houses.   We were assigned(分配) a dilapidated(破烂的) house in one of the worst communities of the city.   I was afraid as we got near to the front door, not knowing who we would find on the other side.   We knocked three times quickly and stepped back, waiting to be let in.

When the door opened, my mouth did, too.   Standing there was a little old lady with wisps(一束) of white hair and a purple apron(围裙) tied around her waist.

"Hello" she said, "I'm Amelia.   Please come in and I will show you where to start."Her smile shone brightly.   “I am just baking some cookies for you girls to eat.”

As she led us to the parts of her house that needed painting, my heart softened.   Here was one of the scariest­ looking houses in the city, but behind its doors was a sweet old lady with a cane and a big smile.

Here we were coming to help her, and instead she was doing something for us—baking homemade cookies and serving us tea!

There was no age barrier that day as we worked on Amelia's house.

“Nonsense！” she criticized(批评).