The 2021 East Point Horspice therapeutic riding season shows tremendous promise and an opportunity to extinguish the dumpster fire that was 2020. EPH feels a deep gratitude and appreciation to the many generous volunteers who understand the benefits offered by this program. As any non-profit organization would agree, the need for volunteers is as important as ever. Please consider the following reasons why volunteering can improve the lives of everyone involved.
1. Helping others gives a sense of purpose and satisfaction.
Volunteering enhances an individual’s overall sense of purpose and identity, especially if you no longer hold a life-defining role like “worker” or “parent.” Volunteering develops self-esteem, confidence and feelings of self-worth, not only in the volunteer but in the people you are helping. Volunteering can be life-changing and/or life-saving. Never underestimate the possibilities of helping others. Satisfaction can be derived from learning new activities and sharing these new talents with others. Volunteering creates the opportunity to be more physically and socially active. Giving back might give individuals a mental boost by providing them with a neurochemical sense of reward. Helping others makes us happy.
2. Volunteering builds community.
As a volunteer, you strengthen your community through helping others overcome their shortfalls and increase their abilities to improve the quality of their lives. As a volunteer, your social network expands as you make connections with the people you serve and cultivate friendships with other volunteers. The benefits of volunteering show up quickly and have long-term effects. Volunteering builds closer relationships and better connections as friends, family and co-workers work together for a common goal. The act of volunteering can be contagious, creating a chain reaction of other altruistic acts. Rippling throughout a community, people are more likely to offer their own generous acts after observing another do the same.
3. Gain experience for school and college.
EPH has successfully witnessed school-aged kids who volunteered and built their social skills and awareness boosting their college applications. This benefits everyone immediately, but consider that these students have also created a volunteering habit they will carry the rest of their lives. It is also believed in sociological circles that teenagers who volunteer have better grades and self-images.
4. Increase your lifespan.
Long-term volunteers have been reported to live longer, show less disease and have a better overall health. How is this done? Research has showed that older individuals who volunteered at least 200 hours a year decreased their risk of hypertension by 40 percent. It is theorized that the act of volunteering provided more social interactions relieving loneliness and its related stress thus lowering blood pressures. Being around other people will decrease a sense of loneliness adding to your overall happiness. Social interaction improves mental and physical health including better brain function and lower risk for depression and anxiety. Journal of Gerontology studies indicate that volunteering improves elasticity in the brain leading to direct positive impacts on slowing the onset of Alzheimer’s. Social interactions are a super way to maintain the connections in the brain which often break down leading to Alzheimer’s. Being a volunteer gets us up and going and off the couch. Even if the volunteer project isn’t highly physically demanding, you may burn off stubborn belly fat simply by combining the necessary walking and not camping out in front of the refrigerator. The act of volunteering may be just the motivation required to maintain a beneficial activity level. Investing the time and energy to volunteer will show positive results in yourself and the causes you support.
5. Impress your mom.
As a volunteer you can give your mom a great gift this year for Mother’s Day as you share your stories of the people you have decided to assist. Give yourself the present of your mother’s approving smile.
East Point Horspice encourages you to consider volunteering. Even if you have little or no horse experience, you can become an important part of our program. The volunteer orientation is scheduled for Thursday May 6 at 5:30 p.m. in the EPH Memorial Volunteer Center. Contact EPH at 762-3848, eph@bbc.net or www.eastpointhorspice.com. The life you help may very well be your own.