内容来源：分享美国 地址连接：http://go.usa.gov/3FGb5

全世界有超过十亿人志愿帮助他人。无论是在公益厨房为饥饿的人提供食物，还是利用专门技能帮助需要帮助的人，志愿者在服务社区的同时也能学到新技能。

请考虑以下这些参加志愿服务的理由。

培养工作技能和领导才能

《福布斯》（Forbes）杂志发表文章说，志愿工作是磨练商界顶尖管理人才所需的领导能力的最佳途径之一。例如，志愿担任非营利组织的董事可以为年轻的专业管理人员提供他们在职业生涯的早期所不具备的经验。

一项全国范围的调查显示，在澳大利亚，五分之一的志愿者表示他们学到了有助于他们目前或将来就业前景的技能。 26％的人表示志愿服务已经帮助他们获得了某项认证或资格。

增加国家经济产出

无偿从事经济工作可以为国家经济增创价值。孟加拉国的一项调查估计，该国的志愿者人数有1,600万，他们作出的经济贡献达16.6亿美元。在英国，国家统计局(Office for National Statistics)表示，志愿者为英国经济作出了370亿美元的贡献，相当于英国国内生产总值的1.5％。

来自非洲各地的“曼德拉华盛顿奖学金”获得者在华盛顿参加一项服务工作(美国国务院/D.A. Peterson)

改善政府治理

最近的一项联合国报告（United Nations report）指出，公民志愿者能够帮助政府更好地回应国内公民的需求并且更负责任。该报告列举了肯尼亚民众对大选之后的暴力事件进行地图标注，以及中国公民志愿者监测空气质量的例子，以显示志愿服务带来的政策变化。

增进健康

志愿服务不仅有益于你所在的社区，而且有益于你的健康——无论是在精神方面还是身体方面。有研究表明，志愿服务使志愿者感到与社会的联系更加紧密，能帮助化解孤独感和抑郁感。卡内基梅隆大学(Carnegie Mellon University)的一项研究表明，定期参与志愿服务的成年人患高血压的机率较低，而高血压是导致心脏病发作、中风及过早死亡的一个因素。

4 ways volunteering benefits … you

More than 1 billion people around the globe volunteer to help others. Whether working in a soup kitchento feed the hungry orusing your skills to help the needy, volunteers develop new skills while helping their communities.

Consider these great reasons to volunteer.

It develops your job and leadership skills

According to Forbes, volunteer work is one of the best ways to hone the leadership skills needed for top executive positions in the business world. Volunteering for the board of a nonprofit organization, for instance, can offer a young professional executive experience she would not find in her early professional life.

In a nationwide survey, one in five volunteers in Australia said they had learned skills that would help their current or future employment prospects. 26 percent said volunteering had helped them acquire an accreditation or qualification.

It adds to your country’s economic output

Unpaid economic work adds value to national economies. A survey in Bangladesh estimated the number of volunteers in that country as 16 million and their economic contribution at $1.66 billion. In Britain, the Office for National Statistics says volunteers contribute $37 billion to the British economy. That’s 1.5 percent of British GDP.

Mandela Washington Fellows from across Africa participate in a service project in Washington. (State Dept./D.A. Peterson)

It changes your government for the better

A recent United Nations report says citizen volunteers help make governments more responsive and accountable to their citizens. It cited crowdsourced mapping of post-election violence in Kenya and citizen volunteers monitoring air quality in China as examples where volunteerism resulted in policy change.

It makes you healthy

Not only is volunteering good for the world around you, it’s good for your health — both mental and physical. Studies have shown that volunteering makes the volunteer feel more socially connected and helps ward off feelings of loneliness and depression. A study from Carnegie Mellon University suggests that adults who volunteer regularly are less likely to develop high blood pressure, a contributor to heart attacks, strokes and premature death.