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Volunteers offer their time and skills for many reasons. Volunteering helps you expand and grow, meet new people, be creative, feel valued, and help shape the community you live in.

Volunteer work can ease the transition from full-time work, provide social interaction, and offer ways to share your knowledge and skills with others. Here are some tips for becoming a volunteer.

• Consider causes you’d like to support
  Older adults are a valuable volunteer resource for many non-profit organizations, schools, hospitals, and religious organizations. Find an organization whose mission is meaningful to you in arts, culture, recreation, sports, social services, or religion.
• Become connected with your community
  People who volunteer as little as two hours per week live longer than those who don’t volunteer. Start with volunteering one day a week to find out what works best for you and what kind of activity you most enjoy. Volunteer centres are located throughout British Columbia.

Answer these questions to narrow down the options of where to give your time.

• What do you love to do?
• Which skills would you like to share?
• What would you like to learn?
• How much time can you commit to community or volunteer work?
• Do you want to share your skills locally or internationally?
• Which organizations would you like to work with?
• Are there issues in your community that you feel passionate about?
• Are you interested in making your community more age-friendly?

Did You Know?
Volunteers have higher levels of satisfaction and self-esteem, and overall better physical and emotional health than non-volunteers.