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Want to know some of the life-changing benefits of youth volunteering? From increasing their self-esteem, to giving them an appreciation for their own circumstances, this article will show you the importance of teaching your youth to serve others.
The youth of today have so many challenges that they have to face each day. These challenges often take a toll on their self esteem and can be mentally draining. As parents, we will do whatever we can to help our youth realize their worth, and help them to understand how much they can contribute to society.
A simple tool that will have life-changing benefits on our youth is to teach them the importance of SERVICE.
Below are some fun printables for keeping track of your youth’s service, or your own service, for that matter. Make service a priority in your household, and think of something fun to do when a punch card or service tracker is completely filled. Sit down as a family and decide on one service project each month, using “The Year of Service” printable, or encourage your youth to complete the form on their own.
There are so many life-changing benefits of youth volunteering, so don’t forget to make service a priority in your children’s lives.
This post is all about the benefits of youth volunteering.
Click HERE to download service tracker printables.
Emotional Benefits of Youth Volunteering
1. Self Esteem
Often, it is hard for a teenager to feel like they fit in. When they are volunteering, or serving others, it can give them a sense of belonging and a sense of purpose. It can help them feel proud of their accomplishments, and improve their self-confidence.
2. Self Awareness
When you are helping others in need, it can make you more aware of your own circumstances, and help you to feel more grateful for the trials you are going through. It can also help you to understand which factors you can control in your own life, and help you to adjust your perceptions in life.
3. Happiness
Humans are hard-wired to give to others. Therefore, the more that our youth are giving to others, the happier they are going to feel.
4. Growth
When youth are put into situations where they are able to serve others, they are often pushed out of their comfort zone slightly. This allows them to grow as they start to discover what they are capable of, and learn more about themselves.
5. Positivity
Serving others can help get rid of negative thoughts and feelings. It is so easy for our youth to feel sorry for themselves, or to feel like they are being victimized. When our youth are serving, it forces them to look outside of themselves, and focus on other’s needs. This helps them to feel more positivity in their own lives, while helping someone else.
Social Benefits of Youth Volunteering
6. Strengthen Relationships
When youth are serving, they are able to make connections with new people, that can turn into great friendships. If the youth serve alongside their family, it can also strengthen the family relationship. According to Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, love and belonging are some of our most important needs (right after food, water, and safety). This includes our desire to connect with others, and feel a sense of belonging.
7. Community Involvement
Volunteering allows our youth to look at issues in our own community and get involved with making a difference. The more our youth feel connected to our community, the more they will value our community and try to help improve our community. As they serve, they will discover how they fit into society.
8. Leadership Skills
Volunteering will help develop the leadership skills of our youth. It will also enhance our youth’s teamwork skills as they discover how to work with diverse people. As our youth work with diverse people, their social awareness is developed and strengthened, which is a great leadership skill. Our youth begin to better understand the feelings and needs of others that they are working with.
9. Inspires Others
Service is contagious. You may have heard the term “pay it forward.” Paying it forward is where one person serves someone, and then that person goes and serves someone else. It can create this society where everyone is serving everyone, and it never ends. Global Pay it Forward Day is on April 28th, so go and serve someone, and see if it inspires others to serve as well.
10. Boosts Reputation
Some people in the community, or in a neighborhood, are known for serving others, and it can boost their reputation. If our youth volunteer, it can build trust in them, and build their network. People will be more incline to incorporate these youth into their needs, and ask for help.
Physical Benefits of Youth Volunteering
11. Physical Labor
Many service projects, and volunteering opportunities require a little bit of physical activity. In my youth, we did many physical activities, such as building a house, gardening, painting, cleaning, and food drives. When I was a teenager, I would love to go outside after a snowstorm and shovel my neighbors driveways. It was a simple way for me to serve others, and did require some physical labor.
12. Heart Health
Serving others have been proven to help with heart health, by lowering blood pressure, reducing stress, tension, and chronic pain. Our youth often feel invincible, but they can definitely understand the affects that stress can have on their wellbeing. As adults, we can better understand the importance of paying attention to our heart health.
13. Brain Health
Volunteering will also positively affect your youth’s brain health. It has been shown that students do better in school subjects, when they volunteer. Through service our youth are better able to connect the things they are learning out in the real world, with things they are learning in school, and develop a greater appreciation for their school studies.
Spiritual Benefits of Youth Volunteering
14. Learn Selflessness
As youth are serving others, their thoughts are turned toward other people, and they stop thinking so much about themselves. The happiness they feel from helping others, also teaches them to be less selfish, as they try and find that happiness again and again through service.
15. Learn Values
When our youth serve others, it helps teach them kindness, respect, and empathy for others. They see others serving, and they see the happiness that it brings those who are being served. It helps our youth to see humans as an integrated family, rather than as individuals. These are all wonderful traits that youth can and should possess.
16. Instills Gratitude
Youth who are serving others, will often feel a sense of gratitude. They may feel gratitude for those whom they are serving, those they are serving with, and gratitude for their own lives. When our youth are placed in situations where there are great needs, it helps them to appreciate what they have.
17. Feel Closer to Jesus
It is a commandment to love they neighbor. By serving others, our youth can feel closer to Jesus as they obey His commandments. As they develop their relationship with their Savior, they can learn to call on Him, rely on Him, and love Him. This will increase their ability to feel of His love and guidance in their lives as well.
Intellectual Benefits of Youth Volunteering
18. Fulfill School Requirements
Many schools, clubs, and churches require/encourage students to volunteer. This is a great opportunity for students to discover the life-changing benefits of volunteering, while also fulfilling an academic requirement or religious achievement.
19. Looks Good on Applications
High school is the time when most students start thinking about their future. If they have lived a life of service and volunteering, they can add those achievements onto their college/job applications and scholarships. Volunteering experiences look really good on applications and can give your youth a head start for their future.
20. Discover New Talents
By serving others, youth are typically put into situations where they are trying new things. Through doing this, they may discover new talents that they weren’t aware of prior to volunteering.
21. Learn Life Skills
Many life skills can be learned through service. Some of those skills may include time management, innovative thinking, creativity, and problem solving skills. These are all skills that will help our youth throughout their lives. These valuable skills can then transfer over to job skills, and adulting skills (parenting, being a citizen, being a neighbor).
There are so many life-changing benefits of youth volunteering. These are critical skills that our youth should be learning, and can be experienced easily through service to others. Let’s serve, and let’s teach our youth how to serve!
This post is all about the benefits of youth volunteering.
Check out THIS article to see why YOU should serve others.