#2- The Spirit of Volunteerism

Just like everyone gets into the spirit of Christmas, we should also get into the spirit of volunteering.  Volunteering is done all year round. Being able to volunteer means you are fully capable of giving back to your community, with no reward in return. But the question is, why do people volunteer? Maybe its the feel of doing something good for others, to meet other people or even out of boredom. Everyone is called to help out in there community, it is a way to learn, live and love. We learn through experience. The more we volunteer the more we gain knowledge and learn for next time. Each time we face a new task, we can always grasp something out of it. We live through each moment. Life is short and that means we should live each moment with purpose. Make your life full of meaning and no regrets. Lastly, we learn to love. To be able to volunteer you must learn to love one another. Everything that is done through volunteerism, is done with love. Without love, whats the point? Knowing that you have done something amazing for another person, is one of the best feelings. It gives your life meaning and purpose and it teaches you how to work well with others in large groups. 

Over the past years, volunteering has increased in number vastly. According to the Bureau of Labor statistics, more than 60 million Americans volunteered for some type of organization during the years of 2006 and 2007. It is constant back and forth. Fortunately in the year 2012, 64.5 million people volunteered more. Now the percentages for men and women differ as well. It is well known that a higher percentage of women volunteer more than men, between the ages of 35-55. The number for teens volunteering has also increased dramatically. A number of 15.5 million teenagers have served in the past year of 2013. Teenagers between the ages 12-18 commit about 29 hours of service each year, while adults report 52 hours of service. Its a big difference. But the numbers shouldn't matter. What matters most is that people are getting into the spirit of volunteering and performing acts of kindness towards others. Its such a wonderful thing, to see so many people giving up their time to help those less fortunate. Even if its just an hour its enough, because you know that what you've accomplished was done for someone else rather than yourself. So lets all get into the spirit and start volunteering more, because theirs nothing better than seeing a person you've helped smile. 

Article 1:http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/08/business/08count.html?_r=1&adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1390851185-MQtHOuNJNEAvSmeL1RuqdA

Article 2: http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2013/12/08/from-memos-to-mistletoe-the-office-holiday-party/embrace-the-season-by-volunteering

Article 3: http://www.bls.gov/news.release/volun.nr0.htm

Article 4: http://msue.anr.msu.edu/news/youth_in_american_teens_as_volunteers