Over 75 million Americans spent a whopping 4.99 billion hours and contributed over $167.2 billion in economic value between September 2022 and 2023. The economic value of those hours is estimated to be $147 billion.
Mighty powerful, isn’t it?
What’s more, decades of scientific research has found there are powerful benefits of volunteering.
At Opportunity Village, the people on the receiving end of that generosity are adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities across Las Vegas. Every hour a volunteer gives goes toward the programs, events, and everyday moments that help them live, work, and connect in their community.
This guide will quickly take you through those benefits. It will then show you ways to volunteer your time that might surprise you.
Top 5 mental health benefits of volunteering
1. Feel good — enjoy a helper’s high
The science is in: volunteering makes you feel good. Called a ‘helpers high’, studies show that volunteering creates a similar physical experience to vigorous exercise or meditation.
Why? Because your body releases endorphins during positive social contact with others. Harvard Health calls endorphins the brain’s natural pain reliever.
But to really enjoy the feeling of a helper’s high, you need to have direct contact with other people when you volunteer. And your volunteering must be altruistic (i.e. without any selfish motivator such as being paid).
At Opportunity Village, that rush is easy to spot every December, when hundreds of volunteers keep Magical Forest running for six weeks straight, greeting guests, running games, and watching the lights go up for the first time through a child’s eyes.
2. Reduce stress and loneliness
Volunteering around other people can also help you feel less stressed and less lonely. That’s because when you lack human contact, you’re likely to have increased cortisol levels in your body.
What does that mean? Well, cortisol is sometimes called the stress hormone. Higher levels of cortisol in your body will make you more stressed.
Feeling lonelier also increases cortisol production.
So when you volunteer with others, you’ll help yourself feel less lonely and less stressed while you’re helping people in need. Now that’s a win-win if ever we’ve seen one.
3. Lessen feelings of depression
Saying “Yes” to that volunteer opportunity you’re considering might help you feel less depressed. Research shows that volunteering lowers depression levels for those over 65. So the benefits of volunteering are especially obvious for seniors with depression.
But when you combine the powerful effects of lowered cortisol and a helper’s high, volunteering helps us all feel better. It can even improve your overall sense of happiness. Let’s take a quick look at how.
Volunteers at Betty’s Village see this play out in small, repeated moments: a resident who remembers your name the second time you visit, or asks when you’re coming back. That kind of recognition is part of what makes the mood boost last.
4. Boost your happiness
The Journal of Happiness Studies sounds like a worthy read, doesn’t it? They found that people who volunteer are happier than those who don’t.
The study looked at data from about 70,000 people in the UK. And what did they find? Compared to people who didn’t volunteer, those who did so in the previous year felt more satisfied with their lives. They also rated their overall health as better.
And taking it one step further, those who volunteered regularly (at least once a month), reported better mental health than those who volunteered rarely or not at all.
The Social Benefits of Volunteering
5. Build friendships and social connection
A powerful benefit of volunteering is the social connection you feel. You can expand your social network and improve social skills while helping other people.
You’ll probably spend your time free of any troubles while feeling a shared sense of purpose and belonging. You might even make lasting friendships with people who share your values.
Creating meaningful social connections can profoundly affect your overall mental health and wellbeing. Build confidence, enjoy emotional support and feel less stressed.
And as an added bonus, social engagement promotes brain health as you age.
Other benefits of volunteering
The benefits of volunteering aren’t just for the mind. Let’s look at how helping others can improve your physical health too.
6. Lower your blood pressure
Another powerful benefit of volunteering is you’re likely to lower your blood pressure. And high blood pressure is linked to a host of poor health outcomes.
The 2007 study by researchers at Carnegie Mellon University looked at adults over 50. They found that people who didn’t volunteer at all were more likely to have problems with high blood pressure than those who volunteered regularly.
But why is this so? The study concludes that it might be linked to an increase in physical activity as well as lowered stress levels.
7. Live a longer life
Want to live a longer, healthier life? Then you should think about volunteering. A study in Health Psychology from the University of Michigan found those who volunteered regularly tended to live longer than those who didn’t. But the key was to volunteer altruistically, rather than for self-interest.
8. Get better sleep
Okay, who doesn’t want more or better sleep? We thought so.
In a survey of more than 4,500 Americans, Dr Stephen Post from Stony Brook University of Medicine found that volunteering had an effect on sleep.
As Dr Post explained to verywellmind, “Volunteers have less trouble sleeping, less anxiety, and better friendships and social networks.”
9. Win a job
Volunteering with an organization occasionally leads to paid employment. If you can make a strong connection with the team and show strong relevant abilities, you may just walk away with a job.
Volunteering also gives you the chance to practice skills, gain experience, and meet people in the field.
That covers the benefits of volunteering to whoever’s actually volunteering. But there are other good reasons to volunteer too. Let’s look quickly at why volunteering matters.
Volunteers who help out at the Opportunity Village Thrift Store walk away with hands-on experience in retail operations, from merchandising to customer service, skills that translate directly to a resume.
Why is it important to volunteer?
When you volunteer, you freely give your time. There’s no expectation of any payment or return favors. In this hyper-scheduled, fast-paced world, why should you give of your limited time?
Because volunteering makes a difference to worthy organizations, and to the lives of people in need.
Many organizations are only partly funded by governments, if they’re funded at all. They couldn’t do what they do without people volunteering their time, or donating cash and goods.
At Opportunity Village, that support goes directly toward staffing signature events like Magical Forest and HallOVeen, sustaining social enterprises like the Thrift Store, and running the day-to-day programs that serve adults with disabilities across Las Vegas. Without you, that support wouldn’t be there for the people who rely on it.
It’s that simple.
Volunteering with Opportunity Village is always a great opportunity to serve my community, through such a wonderful organization! One memory that sticks with me throughout my community service journey at Opportunity Village is volunteering at the Tea Cups during a slow night; the same group of kids came to ride the Tea Cups over and over because there was only a small line! It was so fun to laugh with them and get to see them have fun throughout the night. That is the kind of experience that Opportunity Village provides.
Trevor Phipps-Arzola
SECTA Key Club President 2026–2027 | D28E Key Club Technology Editor 2026–2027
How to Start Volunteering
Shift length varies by role. Some are a single event shift, others run ongoing, so you can find something that fits your schedule rather than committing to a set block of time.
No special skills are required for most roles, just a willingness to show up and pitch in. A few roles do call for specific experience, like acting for HallOVeen or Magical Forest, or an administrative background for office support.
Signing up takes one step: browse current volunteer opportunities and pick a role that works for you.
Donations other than time
We get it. Life is hectic, and not everyone can spare the time needed to volunteer. If that’s you, have you considered donating to provide vital support for adults with disabilities? Whether it’s with your time, money, or goods, help us make a difference at Opportunity Village.
Ready to experience the benefits for yourself? Volunteer with Opportunity Village and make a difference in the lives of adults with disabilities in Las Vegas.
