Volunteering is generally considered an altruistic activity where an individual or group provides services for no financial gain to benefit another person, group or organization. Volunteering is also renowned for skill development and is often intended to promote goodness or to improve human quality of life. Volunteering may have positive benefits for the volunteer as well as for the person or community served. It is also intended to make contacts for possible employment. Many volunteers are specifically trained in the areas they work, such as medicine, education, or emergency rescue. Others serve on an as-needed basis, such as in response to a natural disaster.

The verb was first recorded in 1755. It was derived from the noun volunteer, in C.1600, "one who offers himself for military service," from the Middle French voluntaire. In the non-military sense, the word was first recorded during the 1630s. The word volunteering has more recent usage—still predominantly military—coinciding with the phrase community service. In a military context, a volunteer army is a military body whose soldiers chose to enter service, as opposed to having been conscripted. Such volunteers do not work "for free" and are given regular pay.

Volunteering has the ability to improve the quality of life and health of those who donate their time and research has found that older adults will benefit the most from volunteering. Physical and mental ailments plaguing older adults can be healed through the simple act of helping others; however, one must be performing the good deed from a selfless nature. There are barriers that can prevent older adults from participating in volunteer work, such as socio-economic status, opinions held by others, and even current health issues. However, these barriers can be overcome so that if one would like to be involved in volunteer work they can do so. Volunteering improves not only the communities in which one serves, but also the life of the individual who is providing help to the community.

Source: Volunteering from Wikipedia

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