April is National Volunteer Month and 23-29 April 2017 is Volunteer Appreciation Week. Do you volunteer or know someone who does?

Whether it is offering your time to help in a youth sports league, Scouting, a nursing home, siting on a town board, or helping a myriad of other deserving organizations, volunteering is good for your health. Studies have shown that those who volunteer on a regular basis are happier and lead fuller lives.

One such study is UnitedHealth Group’s Doing Good is Good for You: 2013 Health and Volunteering Study, they report that 76% of people who volunteered in the previous month say it made them feel better, while 94% say it improved their mood, and 78% reported that it lowered their stress level. In addition to a feeling of better personal health, 95% of the study participants reported that by volunteering they are making their community a better place.

Volunteering isn’t just beneficial to the individual it’s a benefit to employers as well. Employees who volunteer become better employees. In the UnitedHealth Group survey, about half of the respondents reported that volunteering helped them with their career. Of those who said it helped their careers, 87 % noted that volunteering helped develop their people and teamwork skills. This was highest reported career benefit. Others were developing time management skills at75% and developing professional job skills (marketing, finance, etc.) at 71%. For those who volunteered with a colleague, 64% reported that it helped strengthen those working relationships.

Wharton School Professor Cassie Mogilner wrote an article for the September 2012 Harvard Business Review about her studies on spending time helping others. She and her colleagues found that “… giving your time to others can make you feel more “time affluent” and less time-constrained than wasting your time, spending it on yourself, or even getting a windfall of free time.” So, while study participants might feel they have more time, they actually have less time after helping others although they felt more effective, which enhances their productivity.

In 2007, the Corporation for National & Community Service published a research paper titled The Health Benefits of Volunteering. This research focused on older adults from a number of studies exploring volunteering and health. The conclusion is that there is a demonstrative relationship between volunteering and good health. One interesting take away was that the level of volunteerism in a given state could be a predictor of the rate of heart disease and longevity of that given state.

So how will you volunteer?

Doing Good is Good for You: 2013 Health and Volunteering Study

You’ll Feel Less Rushed if You Give Time Away, 9/2012 HBR

The Health Benefits of Volunteering, 2007

I think most people are aware that plants provide the benefit of cleaning the air of carbon dioxide and replenishing the oxygen. This is a benefit both inside and outside of building. However, there are other benefits to having plants and trees in and around your home or building.

On the exterior, plants and shrubs are a nice way to soften the foundation edge and ground line against the building. Using suitable plantings in appropriate locations can also help with heating and cooling of a building. Deciduous trees planted on the south and west side of a building, provide shade in the summer to reduce the cooling load while allowing the winter sunlight through to help with the heating load. Evergreen trees and shrubs planted on the north side of a building can help provide a windbreak. Trees and shrubs can also function as a noise barrier, as well as help control soil erosion. In addition to all of these benefits, plants provide a nice view out your window and a habitat for various birds and animals in your neighborhood.

Using plants on the interior also provides benefits to the occupants. Various plants are known to remove harmful chemicals, by some estimates as much as 85% of the volatile organic compounds (VOC), from the air. Thereby helping improve indoor air quality. Plants also expel water vapor into the air during the photosynthesis process. By grouping several plants together, one can increase the humidity within a room and potentially help reduce dry skin, coughs, and sore throats, particularly in environments that use a forced air system. There are also studies that show having indoor plants can help reduce stress, increase productivity, improve attentiveness, and decrease fatigue.

Here are links to some other pages you may find of interest:

Benefits of Green Plants

Benefits of Trees

Benefits of Houseplants

Xeriscaping