How volunteering benefits the community?

Question

I've been volunteering at the library for a while now and my friend came up to me and asked how exactly that benefits the community and what I get out of it. In response, I honestly could not think of any reasons. Can any of you?

Answer 1

For me personally, it is not what I exactly get out of it. I lookl at it as one day I may need help. I am a strong believer in what comes around goes arounf. Also, not everyone sees the enjoyment others get out of it... you would be surprised how much people really rely on a smile, kindness or even a helping hand. As long as you go to bed realizing you are not doing this for you but to help others you will be fine. It shows a caring, slefless, nuturing side of you and not everyone poses that. Next time ask your friend why it is they Do NOT volunteer.

Answer 2

People volunteer for a lot of reasons. Everyone else is going to post about what a good thing you are doing for the community and all the altruistic reasons -- so I'm going to focus on volunteering for selfish reasons.

Volunteering is a terrific way to network with people, which can lead to everything from getting a great job to making more friends to dates. It's a way to put something on your resume that gets the attention of potential employers. It's a way to train in job skills that you couldn't train in otherwise.

Volunteering at the library means that you know a lot more about how a library works than the average person on the street, and that means that when you walk into any library in the USA, you will know how to quickly access resources, and you will know how to find out what resources they have.  This is really important when you have moved into a new city.

The benefits for the library? They get to show that the community cares about the library, and hope that volunteers are so moved by their service at the library and what they witness that they will write to the city or country government (whomever is funding the library) and tell them how great you think the library is, as well as telling your friends and colleagues.