The Catawba County Volunteer Center, a program of Catawba County United Way, links volunteers with opportunities in our community.

Some of the opportunities to volunteer through the CCUW Volunteer Center include: Annual School Supply Drive, Christmas Bureau, food drives, Days of Caring, Unifour Cross Country Invitational, Citizen Corps, and other special events. There is always a need for volunteers whether during a one-time opportunity or daily activities at various local non-profit organizations.

Why Volunteer?

Wikipedia, a web-based encyclopedia project, defines a volunteer as "someone who works for free, serves in a community or for the benefit of natural environment primarily because they choose to do so. By definition, a volunteer worker does not get paid or receive compensation for services rendered." Volunteers may not receive monetary compensation for their services but they are compensated in other ways.

The Corporation for National & Community Service recently reported the following findings in a report titled THE HEALTH BENEFITS OF VOLUNTEERING - A REVIEW OF RECENT RESEARCH:

- Research demonstrates that volunteering leads to better health and that older volunteers are the most likely to receive physical and mental health benefits from their volunteer activities.

- Volunteer activities can strengthen the social ties that protect individuals from isolation during difficult times, while the experience of helping others leads to a sense of greater self-worth and trust.

- Those who engage in volunteer activities are less likely to suffer from ill health later in life and may be introduced into a positive reinforcing cycle of good health and future volunteering..

- Even when controlling for other factors such as age, health, and gender, research has found that when individuals volunteer, they are more likely to live longer.

- Individuals must meet a "volunteering threshold" in order to receive the positive health outcomes from volunteering; that is, they need to commit a considerable amount of time - or at least one to two hours a week - to volunteer activities.

- States with higher volunteer rates are more likely to have lower mortality rates and less incidence of heart disease.

Please contact Cheryl Abee at the number below to find out how you can start volunteering!.

Call 828-324-HELP (4357)