Thursday, July 5, 2012

Helping Other is Good for Your Health


            Did you know that helping others is good for your health? Studies have shown that volunteerism can have a positive effect on your health. You can read more about these studies here.

Something that I think a lot of us forget is that we don’t need to spend tons of money to show others how much we care about them. Spending time is a much more valuable gift. It can be hard to squeeze time in to volunteer, but when we manage to make the time to help others, we are also making time to help ourselves.

            Here are some ideas of how you can help others even when you have a hectic schedule. The best part is that most of these ideas don’t cost any money, so you don’t have to feel financially pressured.

30 minutes or less:

Practice your vocab while donating food to less fortunate people at FreeRice.com
Drop off a bag of old towels and blankets at your local animal shelter.
Look in your pantry and fill a bag with non-perishable goods for your community’s food bank
Write a letter to a deployed soldier at LettersToSoliders.org

1 hour or less:

Whip up a batch of brownies, cookies, or muffins to take to your local fire station.
The next time you make dinner, double the batch and bring it to a sick friend or elderly person.
Grab one of the 5 billion plastic grocery bags hiding in your house and walk down the street to collect trash
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1 day or less:

Offer to babysit for a friend or family member.

Go to the local animal shelter and volunteer to walk the dogs.
Sign up for a local family fun run or 5k that supports your favorite cause and get fit at the same time.
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There are tons of other ways to volunteer in your community.  Keep in mind, people are more likely to remember the time you spent with them than the things you bought for them.

For more ideas on how to help others click here

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