Volunteering may start out as service to others, but often the greatest change made is within you.
Want to know how volunteering can impact you? Here’s some advice from the book “Be the Change! Change the World. Change Yourself.” (Hundreds of Heads Books, www.hundredsofheads.com, $14.95), straight from people who’ve done it:
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“Service helped me more than those I was helping. I was going through a hard time after miscarrying, but I didn’t want to be sad forever. So I decided to look outside myself and care for others. These acts of service might have been small things, but they seemed like big steps in helping me heal.”
— Stephanie Pflaume, Durand, Ohio
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“Volunteering has changed how I raise my kids. The interest I have in putting myself in other people’s shoes is a direct result of what I do at the zoo, or at other community service projects. The concept of empathy is something not just important to me, but important for me to teach my 6-year-old son.”
— Cam Ragen, Seattle
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“It is incredible that tens of thousands of people from all walks of life have managed to work together for one common goal: to do good.In working with all of the volunteers, organizers, and residents in the Gulf region, I have truly been served. I have gotten so much more out of this experience than I could have ever given.”
— Kristin Burlage, New Orleans
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“I had never really participated in service work until I went into recovery for alcoholism almost 18 months ago. For me, service work has become the largest part of my life—it has to be, in order for my program of recovery to work. That is why I came to New Orleans in late November to take an active role in rebuilding this wonderful city. Whether it be helping someone else in recovery or victims of the hurricanes, or being of service to anyone else, in helping others I am able to find a spiritual serenity that keeps me sober and allows me to be the best person that I can be. Through the volunteer program that Hands On Network provides, I am able to humbly and gratefully give something back to a world that has given me so much.”
— Nicholas Bonsell, New Orleans
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“Giving to a little girl (as a Big Sister mentor) and helping to transform her life has given me inspiration to transform my own life—to stay motivated and make the right choices. I’m her role model now, so I need to make sure I’m teaching her the proper things. Do as I do, not as I say!”
— Kate Sheaffer, Dublin, Pa.
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Hundreds of Heads Books’ survival guides offer the wisdom of the masses by assembling the experiences and advice of hundreds of people who have gone through life’s biggest challenges and have insight to share. Visit www.hundredsofheads.com to share your advice or get more information.
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© 2007, Hundreds of Heads Books, Inc.