illustration by Sébastien Thibault
Volunteering Illustration
In the days and months following the 2016 presidential campaign, Sarah Stocco of St. Paul threw herself into civic activities: calling her congressional representatives, attending postcard-writing parties, joining a neighborhood political action committee.
Sound familiar?
Since the election of Donald Trump, volunteering and civic engagement have increased both in the Twin Cities and nationwide, says Mark Snyder, director of the Center for the Study of the Individual and Society at the University of Minnesota.
“Some of it was directed at the plight of immigrants in danger of being kicked out of the country or people losing health care,” Snyder says. “Anything to help preserve the safety net that was perceived to be jeopardized. There was also a surge in activism, political campaigns, and running for office in all levels.”
Even before the latest uptick, the Twin Cities stood at the top of the nation with a volunteer participation rate of 37 percent. While it would seem obvious that volunteering offers benefits to the community, it’s also good for us on a personal level, in clear and measurable ways.
Whether someone phone-banked to get out the vote or started a Girl Scout troop, the same personal benefits accrue. It doesn’t matter if you’re a conservative or a liberal.
Snyder describes a plethora of proven perks that come from volunteering. Studies in the field have found volunteers enjoy improved mental health, including lower rates of depression and greater self-esteem. Physical benefits include lower hypertension and even an association with longer lifespan. The research has yet to pinpoint exactly why, and no one has proved a cause-and-effect relationship. But some speculate that volunteering increases participation in other healthy activities, such as physical activity among people who may otherwise be sedentary. For people middle age and older, a 2016 BMJ study speculated that civic engagement may stave off social isolation.
These rewards, Snyder’s research suggests, extend across the spectrum of volunteer activities. Whether someone phone-banked to get out the vote or started a Girl Scout troop, the same benefits accrue. And it doesn’t matter if you’re a conservative or a liberal: “Volunteering is volunteering,” he says.
Entire communities may reap benefits from civic engagement, as well. That’s the premise behind the University of Minnesota Extension’s Leadership and Civic Engagement (LCE) Team. LCE programs bring together residents of smaller communities—where research shows the demand for leaders is greater—to learn leadership principles. After spending six to 18 months together, program graduates prove more likely to do such things as run for local political office, and show greater enthusiasm to help with small community improvements, such as improving water quality in local rivers and lakes, and creating wind farms.
All those library sales and park-improvement days add up: According to a 2015 survey by the Corporation for National and Community Service, Minnesota’s 1,049,144 volunteers provided their communities with the equivalent of $1.9 billion in services.
Almost everyone believes in the idea of volunteering, Snyder says. But many people have trouble starting.
“When we surveyed those who don’t volunteer and asked, ‘Why not?,’ people said things like, ‘I don’t know that I have enough time or how I’d find out where to go,’” he says. “No one said, ‘I don’t believe in it.’”
Neither of those barriers need be insurmountable. Social media has made it easier than ever to plug in. Potential volunteers can find opportunities tailored to their availability and interests at HandsOn Twin Cities, VolunteerMatch, and Doing Good Together.
That second point—personal passion—is key. The best way to ensure Minnesotans continue to share their time and energy? Matching volunteers with activities that will pay individual dividends. Volunteers who enjoy personal benefits tend to stick with it, Snyder says.
“It’s not just that they care about others, but that they’ve found a way to do good for themselves at the same time,” he says. “Whether it’s increased self-esteem or building skills or making friends.” Other research has shown that unemployed volunteers are more likely to land jobs than non-volunteers.
Stocco, a stay-at-home mom, felt motivated by a sense of injustice. But the friendships she made through a political Facebook group helped her take the next step: She spent the summer and fall volunteering for Melvin Carter’s successful St. Paul mayoral campaign. These efforts included doing two things she thought she’d never do: door-knocking and phone-banking.
“It’s like exercise,” says Stocco. “You’re not going to go work out if you don’t love it.” Next up for the new political activist: volunteering for Erin Murphy’s gubernatorial campaign.
Other local volunteers report similar benefits. For example, when Coon Rapids dentist Esteban Lugo finishes a day of performing free dental exams on low-income kids, he’s almost always exhausted—and exhilarated.
Since moving to Minnesota from Venezuela in 2000, Lugo has been volunteering for Special Smiles, Special Olympics, Give Kids a Smile, and Team Smile. “Being able to help somebody who can’t get dental access any other way, to get a hug from somebody—it’s very, very rewarding,” Lugo says.
Like exercise, civic engagement can turn into a habit. David Schmidt and Sara Klasky of Inver Grove Heights have traveled the country and world with the lifelong friends they’ve made by volunteering at the Minnesota Zoo, National Parks Service, and Minnesota Master Naturalist Program.
“My wife and I both said when it no longer becomes fun we will stop,” Schmidt says—but after 45 combined years of volunteering, neither has suggested quitting.
Ultimately, the benefits of volunteerism seem to be nothing less than an increased quality of life. When we look at the troubles around us—be it politics or poverty—we think we see people who need our assistance. But the truth may be the inverse: For our own sense of well-being, we need to help.
