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Since 2012, The Conservation Volunteers have been running a project called Green Impacts, which has researched the effects of volunteering on volunteers' health, wellbeing and behaviour. The results of this research have identified four key findings about the impacts of volunteering on those who volunteer:
In England alone over 10 million people volunteer each year and without them many aspects of our society would fall apart. But it is not just the work they do that counts it is what they achieve for themselves. It is great to be part of such a movement. Job satisfaction, self-esteem, making new friends and learning new skills are all part of the rich mix that volunteering brings.
It's easy to try and look at the impact of volunteering from an outputs perspective: how many trees have been planted, how much rubbish has been picked up, how many dogs have been walked, but the benefits that volunteers themselves receive from what they do is just as important, and this study clearly shows that there are many.
One of the most interesting findings is that people from highly deprived areas gain significant personal benefit from volunteering much more so than elsewhere.
Phil Rothwell, TCV Policy and Futures Director
Click here to view a copy of the Volunteering Impacts report as a PDF (1.2MB)
Download a copy of the presentation made at the Volunteering Impacts Conference - 27th March 2014 (PDF - 6MB)
We also have a short video to explain some of our volunteer's stories and the impact volunteering has on them.