For many reasons volunteering is more important than it has ever been in our lifetime.  The fact that more and more people are coming into the country contributes to the need of volunteers.  Another factor is the struggling economy that has done nothing to really improve in the last year or so.  Those two reasons along with other smaller reasons keep the demand for volunteers incredibly high.

Luckily there are people out there who care about volunteering, helping others, and making a difference.  The numbers are actually staggering.  Take a look at how volunteering is measuring up across the United States and see if your state could use some more hands to help in the infographic below.

I am an animal love, so of course I love giving to animal rescues just as much as I love giving to havens and shelters for people.  If you find that you want to give back some this holiday season but lack the funds and time to do so, there is a way you can still help out.  All you have to do is watch a YouTube video and the advertisers on the video will donate to the organization!  How simple is that?

Two of the videos below are sponsored by the YouTube Channel Viso Give.  One is for the ASPCA and the other is for Big Cat Rescue.  Check them out!

• Start Drives – Food drives, clothing drives, toy drives and more are a great way for you to help others who are less fortunate and get other people in the community involved too.  Goodwill foundations in your areas will take the clothing that you and others collect.  There are likely to be local food shelters that will accept food donations.  Typically they prefer non-perishable food items like rice, pastas, and canned foods.  Toy drives are especially popular near the holidays.  New and gently used toys can often be donated so that children will be sure to have toys during Christmas and other holidays.
• Donate Time – Your time and effort means more than you know.  When you take the initiative to give your time willingly to causes that help those in need, you will notice this.  Food kitchens that feed people, good will stores and women shelters can all use extra hands at any time.  You could just take one Saturday a month and make a huge impact.
• Spread the Word – Now that you are more aware of how you can give back and volunteer, help spread the word to others who may be interested in helping out.  You never know who might hear of a need for volunteers, and you never know how much they could give too.

I had a vision in my head of my first day, mainly filled with brushing kittens, playing fetch and possibly scooping some less pleasant items but that would be the roughest stuff I would encounter. It turned out to be quite different, as there was some serious puppy love going on. I could never have imagined all of the emotion that is involved with this type of volunteer work. The worker who assisted me with some basic training and guidance was clearly attached to not only the animals, but to the responsibility she had to them to protect and nurture them as if they were her own. And I suppose at that stage they really were her own since no one else would claim them.

I was also struck by the instant bonds that seemed to form between the people who came in to adopt a new pet and the animals that were so hopeful and eager to be given a new life. That is more than puppy love if you ask me. Within minutes a family could tell which dog would fit in with them best or a young couple just knew what kitten had stolen their hearts. It was this type of joy that made me so happy with my experience there. Even though we were there with the animals each day and saw them come and go, each animal got to become a lasting part of a family. I may have had to do some of the dirty work to keep the facility running, but there were so many other aspects that completely made up for it. If you are thinking about an opportunity like this, just go for it. I hadn’t volunteered for many years but it was something I’m thankful I tried because there is one more part of life that I understand a little better now. I think that is the best part of getting to volunteer, expanding your knowledge and making a difference somewhere in life.

One Day on Earth – Motion Picture Trailer from One Day On Earth on Vimeo.

One Day on Earth is a mind boggling concept thought up by a group of individuals. One night, after watching musicians from all across the world collaborate on a stage during the 2008 World Festival of Sacred Music, the project founder, Kyle Ruddick, realized something. “Their initial attempts to creat music together were awkward”, he wrote, “and it was clear that they had never collaborated prior to this moment. Eventually though, over the period of a couple minutes, what was disharmony became harmony, and a beautiful fusion of music came together for the first time.” This gave them the idea of filming one day on Earth in every single country on the same day. What resulted was a beautiful film project, with stunning images.

When I watched the above trailer, it was very sobering for me. I realized quickly that it’s not all about me. My life, in the grand scheme of things, is nothing. I am a speck in the world.

What does this mean for you? How does it reconfirm your commitment to volunteering?

If you’ve never really seen yourself as a volunteer, think again. The average volunteer may not look like, or be, who you thought he/she was. The Pepsi Refresh Project, put together a great infographic which was featured on Good.is.

You can check out the fabulous infographic here (sorry…it’s too big and wonderful to fit into our tiny blog space!).

Here are some highlights from the infographic:

• Most volunteers are women
• They are usually from the midwest
• Usually between the ages of 35 and 55
• Probably a college grad
• Probably employed, but usually part-time

After you browse through the infographic take a minute to think critically about the information presented in the infographic. How can you use that information to help recruit volunteer for an organization? How can you reach parts of the population that aren’t already volunteering?

Is this infographic representative of the individuals you have met while volunteering?

“It is one of the beautiful compensations of this life that noone can sincerely try to help another without helping himself.”

–Ralph Waldo Emerson

“Destiny is not necessarily what we get out of life, but rather, what we give.”

–Cary Grant

“The best way to find yourself, is to lose yourself in the service of others.”

–Ghandi

‘No joy can equal the joy serving others.’ -Sai Baba

“When you give to others, you speak a silent but audible thank you. Appreciation for others and ourselves is life and spirit for each and every one of us.”

“How wonderful that no one need wait a single moment to improve the world.”

–Anne Frank

“If every American donated five hours a week, it would equal the labor of twenty million full-time volunteers.”

–Whoopi Goldberg

“When you open your heart to giving, angels fly to your door.”

A wise lady once told me that when you find your ideal job, you will do it for less than they pay you and when you find your calling you will do it for free. This is my ideal job. I hope you find yours.”

–Martin Tichenor

“No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted”

–Aesop

“Volunteers are paid in six figures… S-M-I-L-E-S”

–Gayla LeMaire

“Great opportunities to help others seldom come, but small ones surround us every day.”

–Sally Koch

“I feel that we all must live, so that when we are gone, everyone will miss the work we did, but someone has learned by watching us, how to take up the banner and go forward. ”

“Help one another; there’s no time like the present and no present like the time.”

–James Durst

“Even if it’s a little thing, do something for those who have need of a man’s help, something for which you get no pay but the privilege of doing it. For, remember, you don’t live in a world all your own. Your brothers are here too.”

–Albert Schweitzer

“The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen nor touched…but felt in the heart.”

–Helen Keller

“Life’s most persistent and urgent question is ‘What are you doing for others?’ ”

–Rev. Martin Luther King

“When you stop giving and offering something to the rest of the world, it’s time to turn out the lights.”

–George Burns

“If you want to change the world, be that change.”

–Ghandi

“It is not how much you do, but how much love you put in the doing.”

–Mother Theresa

“To ease another’s heartache is to forget one’s own” – Abraham Lincoln

“A bit of fragrance always clings to the hand that gives roses.”

- Chinese proverb

“Help your brother’s boat across the water, and yours too will reach the other side.” Kindness can become its own motive. We are made kind by being kind.” – Eric Hoffer

“If you ever need a helping hand, it is at the end of your arm As you get older you must remember you have a second hand. The first one is to help yourself. The second hand is to help others.”

- Audrey Hepburn

“A candle loses nothing of its light when lighting another.”

–Kahlil Gibran

“Volunteers don’t necessarily have the time, but they have the heart.” –Anonymous

“I have never been especially impressed by the heroics of people convinced that they are about to change the world. I am more awed by … those who … struggle to make one small difference after another.” –Ellen Goodman

“I am only one, but still I am one; I cannot do everything, but still I can do something; and because I cannot do everything I will not refuse to do the something that I can do.”

“We can’t do much about the length of our lives, but we can do plenty about its width and depth.” –Evan Esar

“I slept and I dreamed that life is all joy, I woke and I saw that life is all service. I served and I saw that service is joy. ” –Mother Theresa

“Having a big heart has nothing to do with how big your bank account is. Everyone has something to give”.

–Barbara Bush

“I cannot know what your destiny will be, but one thing I do know is that the truly happy among you will be those who have learned to serve.”

–Albert Schweitzer

“Everybody can be great…because anybody can serve. You don’t have to have a college degree to serve. You don’t have to make your subject and your verb agree to serve. You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love.”

–Martin Luther King, Jr.

“Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, at all the times you can, to all the people you can, as long as you ever can.”

–John Wesley

“Nobody made a greater mistake than he who did nothing because he could do only a little.”

– Edmond Burke

“Life’s most persistent and urgent question is: What are you doing for others?”

–Martin Luther King Jr.

“May I never get too busy in my own affairs that I fail to respond to the needs of others with kindness and compassion.”

–Thomas Jefferson