Independent Living
Volunteer
Want to change your life?
By Erin Mitchell
It’s January
– the start of a new year, when the excitement of the holidays comes to a close and people
reflect on their lives and give thought to what they want to do and where they want to be in the future. No matter
their age or stage in life, as a new year dawns, nearly everyone takes time to “reimagine” their lives.
And if you’re like the rest of us, you’re reconsidering one of a number of areas in your life. Without question
though, your success depends on whether the changes you seek align with your lifestyle and your inner compass.
So how can you explore changing your life in a safe and fun way? In a word: volunteer.
Improve Your Health
As we ring in the New Year, many will join a health club or start a new diet.
That’s great – getting healthy is the key to living a long life and enjoying peace of mind. But there’s more than one
way to get healthy. Nothing beats a good diet and regular exercise, but volunteering can yield similar mental and
physical benefits. Type the words “volunteering” and “health” into a search engine and see how many articles
come up. There are studies that show volunteers get more
physically fit – even when the volunteer opportunity does
not require lots of physical activity. It’s simply because you’re
up and moving and have places to go. Think about it:
Would you rather spend your time inside a gym on a
treadmill or outside walking dogs at the local animal shelter?
You can find volunteer opportunities of all kinds at:
www.createthegood.org or www.volunteermatch.org.
Be More Social
Even extroverted people can have
a hard time making new friends, so “meeting new people”
is often on the list of New Year’s goals. Maybe taking a class
or traveling somewhere new isn’t in the budget, but there
are plenty of other ways to meet people who share some of
your interests. Again, people who volunteer tend to have expanded social circles due to their involvement in their
communities. Whether you love the outdoors, enjoy working with children, or want to work in an exotic place,
volunteering can be a fun and inexpensive way to meet new people.
Find a New Career or Job
When the economy shifts as much as it has in recent years, most of
us rethink our opportunities, and often consider a career or job change. Before you start taking classes towards
a new specialization or begin your online job search, consider … you guessed it … a volunteer opportunity.
Volunteer positions and unpaid internships allow you to observe the daily operations in a particular field. You
may really enjoy doing web design, but through an internship at a nonprofit, you might decide that developing a
website on deadline takes all the fun out of it. Volunteering also offers a way for you to fill potential holes on your
resume when you’re looking for paid work, as well.
Giving your time can yield some impressive outcomes in your life – and that’s not including the great way you
feel when you know you’ve helped someone. So make this year special; make it the year you volunteer.
Erin Mitchell is Associate State Director of Outreach for AARP New York.
You can reach her at (518) 447-6715 or [email protected]
www.55PlusLivingGuide.com 19