This is National Volunteer Week, a time to appreciate the efforts of individuals who make phenomenal contributions to our community. Volunteers are important to the functioning of all nonprofits, but for small organizations like Restoring Connections, it is committed volunteers who carry out our services. The Independent Sector and Do Good Institute recently published the financial value of a volunteer hour in 2025 as $36.14. For us, the total value of volunteer hours has always far exceeded monetary donations.
We want to take this opportunity to thank our many volunteers who have made our healing and mentoring services possible for the past thirty years. Hundreds of volunteers have served justice-involved women as Making Choices mentors, writing teachers, Healing Art facilitators, ESL instructors, and organizers of our backpack program and toiletries program. Our Soul Care mentors, during incarceration and re-entry, are doing the intensive work of assisting individuals to address the reasons they are incarcerated, to find healing, discover their gifts, and make a commitment to be a healing influence for others. Other volunteers have been crucial faculty members in our spiritual care, elder wisdom, and healing programs. Volunteers have supported fundraising efforts, community outreach, and served on advisory committees and the board. We say thank you to all of them, not just for Restoring Connections, but for the impact they have had on the lives of others.
During a time when anxiety is pervasive and we are aware of the deep division in our communities, volunteering is more important than ever. Many people tell us they feel helpless to respond to the situation. Others wonder how you hold onto hope. Volunteer commitments make a significant difference for the individuals who choose to give of themselves, but they also build the fabric of a strong and healthy community. As I mentioned in our March 31 newsletter, service has “proven effectiveness for both individual and community healing.”
Choosing to volunteer gives a sense of purpose as we discover we are a part of something greater than ourselves. It fosters a connection to others and the larger community. It is empowering because it multiplies the efforts that any of us can make on our own. Deep friendships develop as we come into contact with others who share our values. Divisions are overcome as we move out of our comfort zone and come into relationship with differing perspectives. Our understanding and appreciation for diversity expands. We grow as individuals, we learn new communication and problem-solving skills, we discover our personal gifts, and we often develop new ones. Our view broadens as we begin to see firsthand just how much good is being done and how amazing people are! And we also know that volunteering positively impacts mental and physical health.
Those who track the variables that contribute to societal health continually lift up the importance of coming together with others for the sake of the common good. Volunteering is more than a feel-good exercise for some people. It is the foundation of a healthy, functioning society.
We can’t thank you enough, whether you volunteer formally with an organization or faith community, or you serve others in your neighborhood. Your time and efforts have an impact. We hope you will reach out and invite others to join you. You can mentor children and grandchildren in the value of serving others. If you have been thinking about formal volunteering in the community, we encourage you to identify what you are passionate about, consider your time availability, your health, your personal talents, and perhaps ways you would like to grow. There is a nonprofit out there in need of your gifts!