From running errands to preparing meals, caregiving encompasses many duties that don’t always provide interaction with the general population or participation in community activities. One way to step out and make an impact with the world around you is by volunteering for nonprofit fundraisers and events that take place year-round.

This can be worthwhile for both caregivers and the loved ones they care for each day.

“Volunteerism is a fun avenue for skill development, socialization, and improving quality of life in both roles of caregiving, from the caregivers to seniors,” says Great Care Founder and CEO Julie Sullivan. “Best of all, community service just makes you feel good.”

Whether it’s sewing blankets for the local neonatal care unit at a children’s hospital or helping with a bake sale at a local church, community voluntary work can vary and accommodate any talents and experience caregivers and their loved ones may have. Non-profit organizations including the Red Cross and the Humane Society, local governments, schools, hospitals, churches and sororities can all benefit from volunteer work.

The AARP has dedicated a section of its website to volunteerism, at http://www.aarp.org/giving-back, that helps direct seniors and caregivers to ways their experience can be shared in communities. The AARP’s Volunteer Wizard match interests with great ways to give back, answering the question, “What volunteer opportunities are right for you?” Tree or flower planting, for example, might just answer that question.

Also, the AARP volunteer program titled Create the Good, at http://createthegood.org, simplifies the way in which volunteers help out in communities on the projects based on their zip codes. Users can search online for local volunteer opportunities and enroll to receive a monthly newsletter and notifications about new opportunities to volunteer in a local area.

“Volunteers are an often invisible — but critical — force for good in our country. There are more than 62 million volunteers across the nation who feed the hungry, help the sick and foster our youth,” says by Nancy A. LeaMond, in the April 2015 AARP blog about National Volunteer Week. “Other volunteers are supporting our military and veterans, protecting the environment, easing the burden on caregivers, and generally making the world better through myriad acts of kindness and generosity.”

Volunteering can be a way for seniors to spend quality time with their grandchildren or sharpen their cognitive skills and socialize with others in their age group. Caregivers can volunteer within a community to make new friends and share experiences about their important role with others who may be able to relate.

“All in all, volunteering in all its different forms can have a positive impact on caregiving and communities nationwide and here in central Indiana,” Sullivan says.

The professionals at Great Care are available to talk with you and your family about all of your home care needs. Great Care is a non medical in-home care agency providing quality and affordable elder care in Fishers, IN and the surrounding areas. Call (317) 595-9933 for more information.