As the holidays approach, it is not uncommon to think about volunteering for a local cause or charity. Some families like to volunteer together as a way of sharing in the act of giving back. 当他们不能和家人在一起的时候，很多人喜欢做志愿者，作为庆祝“家庭”节日的一种方式。一些工作小组喜欢志愿者作为团队建设者。According to the Corporation of National & Community Service, 77.34 million adults volunteered in 2018, and regardless of the group, each one of those people has a different reason and motivation for volunteering. Nonprofit organizations depend on volunteers to sustain their charitable missions.

As the head of the Nonprofit Management Program at Drexel University and a board member of the West Philadelphia Alliance for Children (WePAC), I know first-hand how important volunteers are to a nonprofit. 以WePAC为例，每周有200多名男女志愿者为西费城17所公立学校的K-4儿童提供图书馆服务和一对一的阅读支持，这意味着每年有超过10,000小时的志愿者时间。These children deserve access to a library, a library that the public school district was no longer able to financial staff and support. Without volunteers throughout the year, the 4,000 students who are served annually through WePAC would not have access to something that most of us take for granted, a library book.

但是，非营利组织全年都需要志愿者，而不仅仅是在假期的四到六周。I support volunteerism whenever people can fit it into their schedules, but I encourage you to think about in January, March, and July, not just during this time of year. JDB电子费城和全国各地的非营利组织为许多人带来了改变，否则他们可能无法获得图书馆的书籍，医疗保健，法律咨询，衣服，床或食物。And these nonprofits need people like you and me to help them achieve their mission.

如果我没有指出志愿服务对你也有好处，那我就太疏忽了。有“感觉良好”的做了好事,促成共同利益,但据梅约诊所也降低患抑郁症的风险,帮助人们保持生理和心理活动,降低压力水平,帮助人们建立新的关系,甚至可能帮助人们活得更久。

如果你是志愿者的新手，我鼓励你货比三家，找到合适的慈善组织，一个符合你的价值观、目标和激情的组织。虽然有价值一次性志愿者经验,在流动厨房提供食物,帮助漆学校,等等,根据志愿者中心,每年71%的相同组织志愿者。这为组织和其他志愿者建立了稳定性，因为这意味着一致性，并且需要更少的培训。

在假期里尽你所能地奉献你的时间，但也可以考虑让自己成为慈善组织的一员，全年都做志愿者——你不仅为公共利益做出了贡献，而且还为你带来了额外的好处。

祝你和你的家人感恩节快乐——愿这一天与家人、朋友团聚，食物充足。

最好的，