Building Community Through Community Service

Being a part of such an intentional neighborhood has so many perks. One of them being the ability to belong to a community. Healthy communities give what they can and use what they need, while always making sure others have access to these resources as well. This is the natural inhale and exhale of sustainable communities. Part of participating in close-knit groups is volunteering your time and giving back. Supporting your community in these ways will enrich your life with a dose of passion, introduce you to your greater community, and connect you to the people who most likely fill the backdrop of your life while sharing ideas and positively impacting your perspective. Giving back and volunteering your time for your community will help you grow as an individual as well as a global community member.

Volunteering Helps You While Helping Others:

Pouring your time and attention into enriching your community is a great way to broaden your understanding of the world. By immersing yourself in your community, you build connections and bonds with those around you who are inspired by the same calling. By helping and lifting others up, you quickly gain a sense of purpose that plays out in multiple areas of your life. Additionally, so many community-based amenities wouldn’t be as readily available to us if we didn’t have volunteers. Participating in your community requires that you give what you can, as this builds bridges to unite across social, economic, and political gaps. We could all use a little more unity in our lives.

Benefits of Volunteering:

As a bonus, volunteering regularly helps support a healthy lifestyle both physically and mentally. Those who have participated in dedicated volunteering efforts throughout their lives tend to live longer with reported higher levels of well-being. In fact, volunteering provides 4 of the 9 healthiest habits of the longest-living populations according to the National Geographic Blue Zones: a sense of purpose, belonging, supporting your loved ones (community) first, and finding your “right tribe” (choosing social circles that support healthy behaviors).

Giving back through time or donations is also one of the best ways to get to know your broader community. By working closely with other people who express interests in similar causes, you’ll likely broaden your network of friends, while also seeing the direct impact your actions have on others. Connecting your life to those who need just a little extra help sometimes will help you grow into more patience, kindness, and resiliency. You’ll learn to work efficiently alongside diverse groups of people as well as gain experiences you can use in many other parts of your life.

What You Can Do To Get Involved:

Of course, I’m biased about the following, but I think a great way to get involved in helping your community is to look in your own backyard. Is there a farm you can volunteer on? A community fridge you can fill? Or a local drive you can shop for? Whatever you’re passionate about, you can easily find ways to benefit somebody else’s life. Even if it’s just a small thing for you, it could make a huge difference for somebody else.

We were so thrilled when we heard that Chickahominy Falls community members formed a Community Service Club. It’s a great way to give back to the community that gives so much to us. For more information on how you can help them out with their donation collections, visit our event webpage.