Hannah Bethel, a third-year student at the University of Miami, has volunteered approximately 2,000 hours at the Bruce W. Carter Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center.
For Bethel, who would like to work as a research physician, volunteering is not only an opportunity to learn about the health care system, but also an opportunity to get to know the patients, hear their life stories and learn about the conditions that brought them to the clinic.
Bethel was honored by the university’s Butler Center for Service and Leadership for her exceptional work.
“Everyone should start volunteering because it is incredibly satisfying,” she said. “I think people naturally want to help other people. In addition to my official volunteer work, I also help people on the streets who need help. Volunteering makes you a better person.”
Bethel is not alone. According to AmeriCorps, there are about 60 million people officially volunteering in the United States. Research shows that people who consistently help others experience less depression, more serenity, less pain, and better health. They may even live longer.
Lindsey Goldstein is the assistant director of the Butler Center, which offers a wide range of volunteer and volunteer opportunities for students throughout the community. She said many students volunteer because it allows them to meet other students, develop a sense of community and become socially involved in a particular cause.
The Butler Center also wants to emphasize that volunteering can be fun. As part of a recent project, students were taken to the Miami Zoo to build an educational trail.
“They had to work hard, but they also had fun exploring the zoo together and watching the animals,” she said.
Goldstein also believes that most student volunteer work is done out of an inner drive. Otherwise, they wouldn’t use their free time, such as spring break, to do community service, she says.
One such person is Veronica Richmond. Richmond is an 11th-grader who began volunteering in elementary school. Over the past three spring breaks, she has spent her time on community projects, including helping save the marshes at Jug Bay Wetlands Sanctuary in Lothian, Maryland, and hauling hundreds of wheelbarrows full of sand at the Laura Quinn Wild Bird Sanctuary in the Florida Keys.
“There is so much love in volunteering,” she said. “It takes inner motivation and kindness to seek out and take advantage of opportunities to do the dirty work that makes the world a better place.”
Many people help others because they are motivated by religious beliefs and a sense of community. David W. Kling, professor of religious studies in the College of Arts and Sciences, said studies have shown that all religious traditions emphasize that helping others should be an important part of their practice.
“One thing is clear: every study I’ve read indicates that religion is the strongest predictor of altruism, whether it’s financial donations or volunteering,” he said. “All religions teach selflessness and value helping others.”
Christians are taught to “love your neighbor” or “do what you would have others do to you.” But Kling said that “it’s not so much religious belief alone” that encourages volunteerism. Rather, it’s “religious affiliation.”
People who attend church weekly are more likely to volunteer than those who do so monthly, he said. Studies show that relationships and networks are formed and those social ties lead to helping others, he said.
“These religious people are not only volunteering in their own churches or synagogues, but also in other organizations,” he said. “So it goes beyond their immediate community.”
For third-year student Athena Amancio-Alsobrook, volunteering began as a child. Her mother encouraged her to volunteer, and they participated in toy drives and Make-A-Wish Foundation projects.
At university, she participated in Canefest, an annual event hosted by the Committee on Student Organizations where dozens of community organizations come to campus seeking volunteers. There, she found the American Red Cross and was able to work with the homeless at the Miami Rescue Mission through one of its programs.
Amancio-Alsobrook has completed more than 160 hours of community service, preparing and serving meals to the homeless.
“For me, it’s always better to give to others who are less fortunate than me,” she said. “Seeing how grateful people are means the world to me.”
