If you’re reading this, you are most likely someone who already knows why giving back matters and you most likely share our concern about social issues, including youth homelessness, and may want to do something about it. It is easy to feel overwhelmed and it is difficult to know where to start.
Many, rightly believe, that it is our moral obligation to look after those less fortunate in society. But, did you know that people who give back tend to be happier, healthier and live longer?
“If you want happiness for an hour, take a nap. If you want happiness for a day, go fishing. If you want happiness for a year, inherit a fortune. If you want happiness for a lifetime, help somebody.”
Chinese proverb
The power of giving back
Volunteering your time, energy, attention, expertise and financial assistance doesn’t just make the world a better place, it also makes you better as a person. You could be the most successful person in the world, but what does it mean if we don’t use it to make a difference and share with others? True fulfillment in life comes from lifting each other up.
In times of uncertainty, nurturing empathy and kindness buffer us from the various negative narratives around us. In fact, being kind and altruistic can offer a solution to many of the problems we face as a society.
Kindness: The quality of being friendly, generous, and considerate. From a survival point of view, kindness makes sense – we have evolved to understand that kindness and cooperation means inclusion and safety.
Empathy: Humans are hard-wired for empathy. It helps us to connect with and respond to our babies, but it is also a skill that develops over time and is why, perhaps, some people are more empathetic than others.
Kindness and empathy are good for us as a species and because of this, we intuitively know that our happiness depends on the happiness of others.
Altruism: True altruism is the unselfish concern for other people, doing things out of a desire to help, not because you feel obligated to out of duty, loyalty, or religious reasons. Altruism is about reducing another’s suffering, without expecting anything in return.
Kindness is contagious: If you dropped a single pebble into still water, the water would ripple outward in widening circles. Kindness contagion is much like the ripple effect of the pebble and the water. Even just witnessing an act of kindness motivates us towards acts of kindness ourselves.
Health benefits of giving
‘Helpers high’ refers to the feel-good chemicals our body releases when we do something good – release endorphins (oxytocin, serotonin and dopamine) – that make us feel good and therefore are ways of supporting our own wellbeing too.
As mentioned, we have evolved to understand that acts of kindness and altruism improve wellbeing and foster social connections – making us both personally happier and stronger and more resilient as a community. Doing good, makes you feel good, and because it is contagious, we do more good.
Wellbeing: Small and large acts of kindness help reduce stress, depression, anxiety and loneliness and increases our levels of life satisfaction, happiness and self-esteem, diverting our attention away from ourselves, giving us a sense of purpose. We can have all the success in the world, but if we don’t share the success with others – what does it matter? We need a community to belong to – something that is bigger than us.
Physical health: Giving back may also improve our physical health by lowering blood pressure, strengthening our immune system, staving off disease and lowering cortisol levels. Ultimately, helping us to live longer, happier, healthier lives!
Sometimes we will never know the impact we have had on someone’s life – so, do it anyway.
Ways to give back:
- Give time: get hands-on, we are always looking for volunteers to help us make a difference.
- Expertise: do you have a special skill or service that could help us? Get in touch.
- Partner: would you like to partner with us to solve youth homelessness?
- Be a carer: Burdekin foster carers, care for children and young people in a variety of settings.
- Fundraising: make a difference by fundraising for youth.
- Donate: your donations make our work possible.
Further reading
