Once you have retired from your career, retirement can leave a lot of seniors asking themselves, "what do I do next?" Nowadays, seniors are looking to fill their time by volunteering for a cause they feel passionate about. However, many of these seniors don't realize that volunteering has significant health benefits. Comfort Keepers is here to provide the numerous benefits of volunteering in Fort Lauderdale for seniors.
Volunteering Can Help Prevent Isolation and Depression
Volunteering on a consistent basis allows seniors to get involved in the Fort Lauderdale community. Being relied upon gives seniors a sense of purpose and responsibility. In addition, volunteering gives seniors more social engagement and the opportunity to create friendships.
Seniors Can Maintain an Active Lifestyle
Whether it's walking dogs for an animal shelter or working in a soup kitchen, volunteering helps seniors stay physically active. Some examples of great organizations to volunteer for in Fort Lauderdale include All Saints Soup Kitchen, Kindred Hospital South Florida, and The Pet Project. Regardless of the cause you support, volunteering helps seniors to maintain an active lifestyle, which can prevent injuries and diseases.
Support an Important Cause
Due to work and family responsibilities, many people don't have the time to volunteer. Although once they retire, seniors have more time to pursue interests they have always wanted to get involved in. Volunteering for a particular cause allows seniors to give back to an organization that they care about. Even if a senior is unable to leave the house due to health concerns, volunteering options still exist. They can make phone calls or send out emails on behalf of the organization to still feel involved and provide support.
Make New Friends
Seniors can find themselves in situations where they are lonely, socially isolated, or sad over the loss of a spouse. Volunteering brings people together and builds new relationships with people that share a common interest. The relationships that come from volunteering may sometimes last a lifetime. Sometimes, seniors can feel like they don't have many opportunities to connect with new people. Volunteering gives them that opportunity in ways that can make it easier for seniors to interact and make new friends.
Boost Confidence
After retirement, seniors may lose some of their confidence they once had while they were working. Volunteering boosts their confidence and provides seniors with a sense of self-worth and accomplishment. When confidence is high, a senior can feel better, both physically and mentally. Allowing a senior to stay busy helps them focus on the activity at hand rather than their aches and pains.
In Conclusion
Volunteering can make an enormous contribution to improve mental and physical health in seniors. Not every senior has the same care needs, which means they don't all need the same kind of home care services. However, all seniors need to be taken care of with kindness and love. At Comfort Keepers, we care about the people who come to us. We just don't care about their physical health. We also care about their mental as well. That is why we encourage seniors to go out and volunteer in the Fort Lauderdale community so they can feel a sense of belonging and part of the ever-growing Fort Lauderdale community.
