{"id":2706,"date":"2018-10-23T23:10:58","date_gmt":"2018-10-23T23:10:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fksg.org\/?p=2706"},"modified":"2018-10-23T23:10:58","modified_gmt":"2018-10-23T23:10:58","slug":"what-is-volunteering","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fksg.org\/test1\/what-is-volunteering\/","title":{"rendered":"What is Volunteering?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Volunteering is time willingly given for the common good and without financial gain. It can be formal (usually takes place through a charity or other not-for-profit or community organization) or informal (includes helping family and friends with things like babysitting, home repairs or caring).<\/p>\n<p>There are many organizations that actively seek volunteers. These include:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>animal welfare organizations<\/li>\n<li>organizations interested in conservation<\/li>\n<li>organizations and charities that look after vulnerable people<\/li>\n<li>other community organizations like state emergency services and rural fire services<\/li>\n<li>organizations that take volunteers overseas.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Volunteering can be very meaningful and enjoyable, and in turn be good for your mental health and wellbeing.<\/p>\n<p>Volunteering can:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>give you a sense of achievement and purpose<\/li>\n<li>help you feel part of a community<\/li>\n<li>help you feel better about yourself by improving your self-esteem and confidence<\/li>\n<li>help you share your skills, learn new skills and create a better work-life balance<\/li>\n<li>help combat stress, loneliness, and social isolation, and depression<\/li>\n<li>help you meet new people, which can help you feel more connected and valued<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Being a volunteer has lots of benefits. It can bring meaning and purpose to your life while increasing your self-esteem and well-being. Volunteering can also relieve stress, and alleviate symptoms of depression. As well as having a positive impact on your community, volunteering can improve your relationships too.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-903\" src=\"https:\/\/www.fksg.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/Screen-Shot-2017-05-21-at-14.48.43.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"645\" height=\"114\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Even volunteering can deliver a wealth of benefits, here are just a few:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>A means of building self-esteem and confidence<\/li>\n<li>A great way to learn or develop skills and interests<\/li>\n<li>A pathway to enhance the work experience<\/li>\n<li>A way to enhance your health and get active<\/li>\n<li>A way to meet new people or broaden your social circle<\/li>\n<li>A way of expressing gratitude for help you may have received in the past<\/li>\n<li>An opportunity to practice and develop your social skills<\/li>\n<li>An opportunity to support a cause you feel strongly about<\/li>\n<li>An opportunity to make a real difference to your community.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Volunteering is a great way to meet new people and build healthy relationships. It strengthens your ties to the community and exposes you to people with similar interests.<\/p>\n<p>Because volunteering keeps you in regular contact with others, it can also help you develop a solid support base. As well as helping to protect you against stress and depression, volunteering can help with mental health recovery.<\/p>\n<p>Volunteering is an activity which takes place through not-for-profit and community organizations and projects or your local community and is undertaken:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>to be of benefit to the community and the volunteer<\/li>\n<li>of the volunteer\u2019s own free will and without coercion<\/li>\n<li>for no financial payment.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Self-worth, great fun, friendships, and job opportunities can all be part of getting involved with your community. Volunteering may be an outlet for your natural talents, a road-test for your new career, or simply a handy way to meet new friends. Your strong beliefs and values may also inspire you to volunteer.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Volunteering is time willingly given for the common good and without financial gain. It can be formal (usually takes place through a charity or other not-for-profit or community organization) or informal (includes helping family and friends with things like babysitting, home repairs or caring). There are many organizations that actively seek volunteers. These include: animal&hellip;&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.fksg.org\/test1\/what-is-volunteering\/\" class=\"\" rel=\"bookmark\">Read More &raquo;<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">What is Volunteering?<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2709,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"neve_meta_sidebar":"","neve_meta_container":"","neve_meta_enable_content_width":"","neve_meta_content_width":0,"neve_meta_title_alignment":"","neve_meta_author_avatar":"","neve_post_elements_order":"","neve_meta_disable_header":"","neve_meta_disable_footer":"","neve_meta_disable_title":"","_themeisle_gutenberg_block_has_review":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[209,644,935,945],"class_list":["post-2706","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-benefits","tag-organizations","tag-volunteering","tag-wellbeing"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fksg.org\/test1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2706","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fksg.org\/test1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fksg.org\/test1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fksg.org\/test1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fksg.org\/test1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2706"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.fksg.org\/test1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2706\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fksg.org\/test1\/wp-json\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fksg.org\/test1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2706"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fksg.org\/test1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2706"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fksg.org\/test1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2706"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}