The advantages of volunteering are many. You can choose your job. You can choose the number of hours you'll work. You can go to Florida for the winter and come back to your volunteer job for the summer. The Institute for the Advancement of Health and other researchers have found that volunteers experience emotional and physical benefits while helping others.
Volunteers tell of feeling calmer and generally more fit as a result of their jobs.
People who try something new in their later lives find self-esteem in the doing of a job they never knew they could do. Doctors and psychologists prescribe volunteering for patients who suffer from stress. One study found a correlation between volunteering and fewer heart attacks in a group of men with a history of heart disease. It's the commitment that matters. Nancy directs Retired and Senior Volunteers.