Here's another reason to volunteer with Northwest Neighbors Village (NNV), a new study in Social Science & Medicine has found that helping others through formal volunteering with an organization, or informal assistance to friends, has a positive impact on cognitive functioning later in life. Tracking over 30,000 U.S. adults across two decades, researchers from the University of Texas and the University of Massachusetts at Boston found that regular helpers experienced much slower cognitive decline compared with those who didn't help.

This latest study adds to research that has shown that volunteering provides many health benefits, such as improving physical and mental health, providing a sense of purpose, and nurturing new and existing relationships. Helping others also increases dopamine levels in the brain providing a sense of well-being and reducing stress and anxiety.

At NNV, we have seen these impacts firsthand. In fact, we often wonder who benefits from the Village more, our members who are receiving support or our volunteers who provide the service? The connections made through the neighbor-to-neighbor support NNV offers are exceptional. To learn more about the benefits of volunteering with NNV, please visit our website and watch our video.

We invite you to become an NNV volunteer. There is no time commitment; volunteers may sign up to help when they have free time or are in town. Volunteering even once a month can make a huge difference! There are so many rewarding opportunities available, including driving a member to and from an important medical appointment or social event; shopping for and delivering groceries to a member; stopping by a member's home for a friendly visit; providing assistance with simple tech support to keep our members engaged and safe online; and so much more!

Our greatest need is for volunteer drivers. These rides are an excellent way to get to know your neighbors while driving to and from a visit to the doctor, hairdresser, or NNV event. For our full list of volunteer opportunities, please follow this link.

We also have opportunities behind the scenes: administrative support, event planning, sending birthday cards, joining a task-focused working group, and helping with fundraising and outreach. You can learn more about our working groups by clicking here.

Our volunteers have access to staff support, ongoing skills development trainings throughout the year, exclusive social gatherings for volunteers to share experiences with one another, NNV social and cultural events, and our annual Volunteer Appreciation Party (in addition to all of those physical and mental health benefits mentioned above!).

All of our volunteers must attend our virtual orientation and complete some paperwork, including a background check (NNV covers the fees for the background check).

Our next virtual volunteer orientation is coming up on Thursday, October 9th from 10:00 a.m. to 11:30 am. We will be hosting the orientation on Zoom to make it more convenient to tune in from home.

To express interest in volunteering with us, please complete our online volunteer inquiry form. If you have any questions, please email Heather Hill, Member and Volunteer Services Coordinator, at hhill@nnvdc.org.

We hope you will join us!