A new semester is a new opportunity for analyzing the way you work, trying new things and exploring new opportunities to enhance your students’ learning experience. The spring semester specifically brings added excitement with a new calendar year.
We all know what it’s like to set New Year’s resolutions. We’re excited by the prospect of starting fresh, popping some bubbly and carrying out the long beloved, though oft begrudged, tradition of reaffirming our goals. Needless to say, by the end of March, disillusionment has inevitably kicked in. We haven’t yet increased our business revenue by 25 percent, potty trained the toddler or recreated our entire family tree in calligraphy. Too often daunted by the marks we set for ourselves, we give up. But fret not! We have some helpful tips for setting more practical objectives and expectations.
We all know that volunteering is a vital part of healthy communities. Volunteering helps organizations provide services that would otherwise be impossible to deliver in an efficient, cost-effective manner. Volunteering fosters a sense of community responsibility. Volunteering brings different segments of the community together and helps them understand each other better. But is there any benefit for the volunteer? The answer is yes—and in more ways than you might think. GetAssist investigates!
Physical Health
People who volunteer have a lower mortality rate than those who don’t, and that benefit increases with age. In addition, volunteering has been shown to reduce symptoms of chronic pain and heart disease.
Mental Health
People who volunteer have lower rates of depression than those who don’t. Volunteering leads to both higher self-esteem (from giving back to the community) and an increased sense of accomplishment (from improving or developing skills). In fact, a London School of Economics study of American adults found that happiness increased as time spent volunteering increased. When compared to people who didn’t volunteer at all, respondents who volunteered once a week were seven percent more likely to rate themselves as “very happy,” and those who volunteered twice a month or more were 12 percent more likely to rate themselves as “very happy.”
Work/Life Balance
Surprisingly, volunteering also seems to act as a time-machine, in that people who volunteer feel like they have more free time—even if they don’t. A Swiss study of 746 full- and part-time workers revealed that those who volunteered experienced a higher level of work/life satisfaction than those who didn’t, even when controlling for factors like actual time and resources. And, in a 2012 report in Psychological Science, volunteers reported a greater sense of “time affluence” than people who spent that same amount of time doing something for themselves.
Professional Success
Volunteering can also deliver tremendous professional benefits. In addition to enhancing important career skills, volunteering can help you grow your network and come in contact with community leaders you may otherwise have no opportunity to meet, especially if you reinforce the connection through GetAssist. Volunteering can also give you a risk-free opportunity to try out new career options.
Without a doubt, giving back to the community is important. But there are very real benefits for volunteers that are too important to ignore. Before you take the plunge, spend some time identifying the volunteer opportunities that best fit you and your life on GetAssist. Think about the things that are important to you. What are you passionate about? What makes you happy? And, on a practical note, how much time do you have? How far do you want to travel? What type of volunteering will best help you reach your personal and career goals?
If you’re ready to start identifying some volunteer opportunities, look no further than GetAssist. With GetAssist you can join volunteer communities to keep up with postings and opportunities near you. Pre-register for GetAssist today!
We all know reading to our kids is a good thing, but there are many more benefits to exposing our children to the merits of reading than most people know. As parents, we have the ability to boost our children’s learning potential simply by making books a fundamental part of their lives. While most New Year’s resolutions focus on healthy habits, why not add this one to the top of your list for 2016?
While a few winter enthusiasts dismiss the winter blues, in North America’s coldest cities, just leaving the house can be an ordeal in the winter months. First, expect to take longer than usual to get properly geared up to walk out the door (that is, if you can find the hats, mitts and goggles required to face another icy day). People who drive to work also need to leave ample time to shovel out, scrape off and heat up their vehicles before hitting the road. Finally, anyone who takes public transit should brace themselves for delays, frozen appendages and ice-encrusted eyebrows.
Whether you’re tackling the Rocky Mountains from the powder in Banff or riding the gondola to the top of Breckenridge ski resort, the thrill of jumping on the snow-capped ridges pales instantly when considering looking out for the little ones. Making sure you don’t collide with inexperienced kids on the slopes is hard enough, but what about bringing them yourself? We came up with a few pointers to ease your mind and make sure everyone—your kids and the other skiers on the mountain—have a fun time.
In the first eight months of this year, Canada welcomed 12.6 million international travelers, making it the strongest season in seven years, according to Destination Canada. In addition, many Canadians are choosing staycations as a way to stretch their budget in a soft economy.
When you look back on your childhood, what pleasant memories do you most remember? The answer is different for all of us, but it usually has to do with those little moments that were made special because they weren’t forced.
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Holiday marketing is not something you should haphazardly throw money at. Competition for your consumers’ attention is fierce during the season and you absolutely have to engage in a really unique way if you want them to see you. We mean a Really. Unique. Way. There is more pressure on businesses today to deliver winning holiday messages than there was just a few years ago. True story.
