During National Volunteer Week (11-17 May), Volunteering Tasmania is connecting
the community through a ‘Smile, it’s National Volunteer Week’ campaign.

“The theme for this year’s National Volunteer Week is ‘Give Happy, Live
Happy’. We are using this opportunity to have real conversations with people in our
community about how volunteering spreads happiness, both in the giving and the
receiving,” Said Adrienne Picone, CEO of Volunteering Tasmania.

“Just a few hours of volunteer work can make a huge difference, and create a
lot of smiling faces, so we encourage Tasmanians to sign up to volunteer via our
website,” she said.

“There are a myriad of ways people can volunteer. You can commit long term,
or just for a one-off event. You can even volunteer ‘virtually’, as 14% of Tasmanians
did last year. There really is something for everyone, and we can help you find it,”
she said.

The common theme is that volunteering spreads happiness for everyone.
Volunteering Tasmania is seeking stories from within in the community to spread the
joy. To take part in the ‘Smile, it’s National Volunteer Week’ campaign, volunteers
can simply:

1. Go to www.volunteeringtas.org.au, and follow the link to print out a smile
prop and attach it to a straw or paddle pop stick.

2. Take a photo and write a few lines about how volunteering makes you happy.

3. Post it to Volunteering Tasmania’s facebook page, or tag volunteering
Tasmania on Instagram @volunteeringtas or Twitter @volunteertas.

The official launch event will be held in Launceston Mall from 10:30am on Monday 11
May, and all community members are invited to attend for morning tea and to take
photos in the photo booth.

Tasmanians can find out more about National Volunteer Week events, or becoming
a volunteer at www.volunteeringtas.org.au.

Backgrounder…

Volunteering and Happiness: The Facts 5 December 2014

1. Volunteers are happier, healthier and sleep better than those who don’t volunteer – doctors should recommend it1
2. 96% of volunteers say that it “makes people happier”2
3. 95% of volunteers say that volunteering is related to feelings of wellbeing3
4. Volunteering results in a “helper’s high,” a powerful physical and emotional feeling experienced when directly helping others.4
5. Just a few hours of volunteer work makes a difference in happiness and mood5
6. Sustained volunteering is associated with better mental health.6
7. Altruistic emotions and behaviours are associated with greater well-being, health, and longevity7
8. A strong correlation exists between the well-being, happiness, health, and longevity of people who are emotionally kind and compassionate in their charitable helping activities.8
9. The experience of helping others provides meaning, a sense of self-worth, a social role and health enhancement.9
10. Volunteering is highly associated with greater health and happiness.10
1 Watson, C. 2012, ‘Volunteering is so good for you that doctors should recommend it, experts say’ The Australian, 30 September
2 Post, S. G. 2011, ‘It’s good to be good: 2011 5th annual scientific report on health, happiness and helping others’, The International Journal of Person Centred Medicine, vol. 1, no. 4, p. 814.
3 Volunteering ACT, 2013, ‘Selfless Service: The State of Volunteering Report in the ACT 2013’, p. 6.
4 Luks, A. 1988, ‘Helper’s high: Volunteering makes people feel good physically and emotionally, Psychology Today, vol. 10, no. 10, p. 39.
5 Post, S. G. 2011, ‘It’s good to be good: 2011 5th annual scientific report on health, happiness and helping others’, The International Journal of Person Centred Medicine, vol. 1, no. 4, p. 816.
6 Musick, M. A. and Wilson, J. 2003, ‘Volunteering and depression: the role of psychological and social resources in different age groups’, Social Science and Medicine, vol. 56, p. 267.
7 Post, S.G. 2005, ‘Altruism, Happiness, and Health: It’s Good to Be Good’, International Journal of Behavioural Medicine, vol. 12, no. 2, p. 66.
8 Post, S.G. 2005, ‘Altruism, Happiness, and Health: It’s Good to Be Good’, International Journal of Behavioural Medicine, vol. 12, no. 2, p. 73.
9 Post, S. G. 2011, ‘It’s good to be good: 2011 5th annual scientific report on health, happiness and helping others’, The International Journal of Person Centred Medicine, vol. 1, no. 4, p. 814.
10 Borgovni, F. 2008, ‘Doing well by doing good. The relationship between formal volunteering and self-reported health and happiness’, Social Science and Medicine, vol. 66, p. 2331.
Bonnie Tuttle Communications Officer Volunteering Tasmania