Much research has been done into the general benefits of volunteering - from making new friends and experiencing new opportunities and challenges, to enhancing employability. It can benefit people of all ages and backgrounds - students, young professionals, and those who are unemployed or retired. (See Case Study)
A survey among 200 of Britain's top businesses, carried out by TimeBank a national campaign inspiring and connecting people to give time, found:
73% of employers would employ candidates with volunteering experience, more readily than those without.
94% of employers believed that volunteering could enhance skills.
"What would I say to other men thinking of volunteering? I'd say the more men the merrier! Most men have a caring side and with a bit of a push, they could do it. Lots of people need help, but without volunteers like myself, they don't get it. As a black man, especially, some people relate to me more. Sometimes women ask for my take on their partner's behaviour; sometimes boys who are shy of the women volunteers ask to talk to me. We need more male role models for those boys." Stefan Horton, volunteer at pact Visitors Centres at Holloway and Pentonville
The charity CSV (Community Service Volunteers) conducted a survey of people over 65 who volunteered and asked them about the benefits, as they perceived them.
More than 50% said volunteering improved their health and fitness.
62% said volunteering helped reduce stress.
In his book The Healing Power of Doing Good, (See Suggested Reading) Allan Luks cites medical evidence to support the belief that volunteering is beneficial to health, for instance in helping with insomnia, strengthening the immune system and enabling a speedier recovery from surgery.
