When you think of how to spend your weekends, volunteering for a cause may be your last option. Working without pay on days you’re supposed to be resting just doesn’t sound like a very appealing idea. In reality, though, you do get paid–just not in cash.

Volunteerism is a lot of hard work, but the rewards that you reap from it cannot be measured. As more platforms online are developed to help people connect faster, looking for a venue to channel all that positive energy has become easier. A good example is iVolunteer, an online resource where you can choose among non-profit organizations that serve different causes. iVolunteer will relaunch on March 5 at the Glorietta Activity Center where you can personally meet members of charitable institutions, while getting to know how you can start helping out.

You can also visit the pages of NGOs you wish to support on Facebook. Once you figure out which organization you’d like to join, you can look forward to all these benefits that only helping out can offer:

1. You make more friends.
You’ll get to meet people with a passion to make a difference. As a volunteer, you'll bond with those who have the same goals as you and share a lot of great experiences that can forge lifetime relationships.



2. You feel like you have more time on your hands.
If you think that you won’t have enough time for anything else after you volunteer, think again. A Wharton study featured in the Harvard Business Review has found that those who share their time with others feel that they have more of it.

3. You’re less likely to develop depression.
The happiness you give away is also what you get in return, according to a study on The Huffington Post, which suggests the possibility of a connection between volunteerism and lower depression rates though social connections.

4. You learn new things.
You get to exchange knowledge with the people you meet and acquire new skill sets that will better serve your cause. By the end of your project, you will have become a more competent and mature person than you were when you started.

5. You feel like you have more to give.
The more you give, the richer you’ll feel for it. What’s more is that studies on Entrepreneur show that donating what you have can actually make you more successful financially.

6. You get to work on something that can change your community.
The best benefit you can get from being a volunteer is knowing that you are a part of a movement that continues to change lives.



PHOTOS: Pixabay; GIFs: Giphy