Last year, more than more than 600 volunteers gave more than 26,175 hours to BEDS Plus (if you’re counting, that’s a value of approximately $910,000). They, like volunteers throughout the world, left with stronger hearts. Literally. And figuratively.
Volunteers have better:
- Health: Diet, exercise, sleep, and preventative care are all strategies for maintaining and improving health. But volunteering also has a place on that list. The Mayo Clinic found volunteers report better physical health and lower depression and anxiety than nonvolunteers. They also feel less stress, which lowers their risk of heart disease, stroke, and general illness, as well as a range of mental/behavioral health conditions. They “have lower mortality rates than those who do not [volunteer].” Taking a volunteer role with us will make you feel better.
- Friendships: In 2023, the U.S. Surgeon General declared that loneliness and isolation represented an epidemic. (Even before COVID, half of adults reported feeling lonely.). The Mayo Clinic again describes how, “Volunteering increases social interaction and helps build a support system based on common interests.” Spending time with us gives you a chance to meet likeminded (and different) people and groups from your communities and throughout West and South Cook County.
- Compassion: Common stereotypes and stigmas reduce people experiencing homelessness to eyesores, irritations, health hazards, alcoholics or drug addicts, and/or criminals. They are assigned all responsibility for their homelessness (as opposed to unaffordable housing, low wages, etc.). Volunteering for people experiencing homelessness shows that their stories are much more complex. We hope volunteers get a better understanding of people experiencing homelessness, the circumstances that brought them to us, and how they can make a difference in their lives.
Like we describe in our monthly eblast, “for many of our volunteers, what starts as ‘helping out’ becomes something more.” We hope you can join us in serving some of the most vulnerable people in our communities. Our volunteer roles include drivers, Ogden Avenue Supportive Housing front desk attendants, Summit Service Center front desk attendants, and Summit Service Center Medical Respite aides. Learn more about volunteering.