Volunteering Activity

About this Activity

The Volunteering Activity is focused on increasing your connection with your community and others. You’ll commit to finding a new volunteer activity and committing two hours per week for six weeks to that activity. You’ll select one day of the week to check back in here and to write about your experiences.

Studies have indicated that volunteering is associated with improvements in various aspects of well-being. Regularly participating in various volunteering activities and organizations demonstrates a commitment to repeated acts of kindness, generally directed at the important goal of improving the lives of others. Volunteer organizations also can provide a powerful sense of social connection and a common purpose, both of which also contribute to our own well-being.

The Practice

Getting Started

The first thing that we recommend is to select the day (or days) of the week on which you want to do this activity. It's best to write down the days or add them to your calendar. A core aspect of these activities is writting down your thoughts. If you are doing the activity in the app, we provide forms to write and save your thoughts. If you are doing the exercise on your own, it is best to have a notebook or word document dedicated to this activity.

Instructions

Over the course of the next six weeks you'll commit to doing a new volunteer experience for at least two hours per week. If you have volunteered in the past, you might consider restarting what it is that you did. If you haven’t volunteered before or are looking for a new opportunity you may find this site https://www.volunteermatch.org/ useful for finding opportunities. As part of the starting this activity, on the next screen you’ll write down what it is that you will be doing.

First Entry

Please write down what volunteer activity you will commit to do.

Weekly Practice

You've committed to volunteering for two hours per week for the six-week duration of this activity. As part of your commitment, you opted to return to this today app to reflect upon and briefly write about your experiences. Take a few moments to clear your mind. When you are ready, please reflect on your volunteer experience. What did you do? How did you feel before and after your volunteer work? Have you found it easy or difficult to keep your commitment? Have you noticed changes in your sense of purpose or connection to others?