What are you going to do with your extra day this year? It’s Leap Year! I often hear people say that someday, when they have more time, they would like to volunteer. Leap Year is your chance!
If you can commit to helping out for one day this year, you will be doing a tremendous service for the community. Nonprofits rely on volunteer power to accomplish their work. Last year at United Way of Southwest Colorado, we had 266 volunteers. If we estimate 10 hours each, then that is 2,660 hours. The IRS values this time at over $23 per hour. If we had to hire people to cover all of that work, it would have cost us over $61,000. Thank you, volunteers!
Giving your time will not only help the community, it can help you, too. A 2013 study by UnitedHealth Group found significant health benefits of volunteerism. Most notably, volunteers reported feeling better and having reduced stress compared to those who did not volunteer. They also felt more connected to their communities. You might ask, “Is it just healthy and calm people who volunteer more than others?” That is certainly a possibility, but if you have ever volunteered, you probably felt pretty positive about the experience and your part in it.
Employers can benefit, too. The study also found that employees who volunteer tend to have lower health care costs and show greater productivity. Employees also learned valuable skills through volunteer work, such as teamwork, time management and networking. Additionally, they reported feeling more positively toward their employers who allow them time to volunteer.
If you are looking for a positive volunteer experience, we have the perfect tool for you: GetConnected. If you go to ConnectSWCO.org, you can easily search for a variety of volunteer opportunities right here in Southwest Colorado. At United Way, we have a lot of fun events where our volunteers help on the golf course, with a radio broadcast, on the train and at summer festivals. You can find those, as well as opportunities to help other organizations.
Currently, there is an option on the site to help cook dinner at a shelter. However, we know that not everyone can cook – some people would like to volunteer to coach or sew or run a ticket booth or feed animals or feed children or serve on a board of directors, etc. You can find the right fit for you. And, if you want to track your hours (for school or just because), you can easily do so through the site.
Finally, we know that many of you need to recruit volunteers for your fun run, bake sale, after-school program, etc. This site is for you, too. It is free for nonprofits and other organizations that are recruiting volunteers to benefit our community. Go to ConnectSWCO.org to set up an account.
We love all kinds of giving: cash, check, credit and time. Take a giant leap forward in your volunteer work and try GetConnected. Great things happen when we work together. Thank you for Living United!
Lynn Urban is president and CEO of United Way of Southwest Colorado.
