Volunteering and its Surprising Benefits

In today's busy society, it can be hard to think about finding time to volunteer. _____ , the benefits of volunteering are enormous（巨大的）, both to you and to the community. The right match can help you find friends, reach out to the community, learn new skills and even _____ your career. Volunteering can even help protect your mental and physical health.

One of the better-known benefits of volunteering is the ____ on the community. Unpaid volunteers are often the glue（胶水） that holds a community together. Volunteering allows you to ____ your community and make it a better place.

One of the best ______ to make new friends and strengthen existing relationships is to _____ to a shared activity together. Volunteering is a great way to meet new people, _____ if you are  new to an area. Volunteering also strengthens your ____ to the community and broadens your support network, ___ you to people with common interests, neighbourhood resources, and fun and fulfilling activities.

 ___ some people are naturally outgoing,others are _____ and have a hard time meeting new people. Volunteering gives you the _____ to practise and develop your social skills, since you are meeting regularly with a group of people with _____ interests. Once you have motivation, it's easier to branch out and  make more friends and contacts.

Volunteering can provide a healthy boost （激励）to your self-confidence, self-esteem and life satisfaction. You are doing good for others and the community , which ______ a natural sense of accomplishment. Your ____ as a volunteer can also give you a sense of pride and identity. And the better you feel about yourself, the more ______ you are to have a positive view of your life and future goals.

 _____ the risk of depression is another important benefit of volunteering. A key ____ in depression is social isolation（孤立）. Volunteering _____ you in regular contact with others and helps you develop a solid support system, which ______ protects you against stress and depression when you' re going through challenging times.

Yours,

Li Hua

   Andrew Carnegie once said，"No man can become rich without himself enriching others. The man who dies rich dies disgraced." Many successful businessmen think about sharing and giving back to their community at some point in their lives，and take part in philanthropy（慈善行为）.Some say it is out of generosity，and others believe that it is for tax reasons. One way or another，the money spent for charitable purposes is needed and has some type of impact on someone's life. The following businessmen believe that sharing is caring. They have donated（捐赠）a combined amount of $ 106.8 billion according to research firm Wealth-X.

German Dietmar Hopp co-founded SAP AG，the famous software company. Through his foundation called Dietmar-Hopp-Stiftung，he donated a total of $1 billion to support local education，sports，and health causes in his hometown in Germany. He is worth $ 6.3 billion.

Pierre Omidyar，the French-born Iranian- American businessman is the founder of eBay. In 1998，he started the Omidyar Foundation with his wife. The organization donates to several areas，food，technology and energy etc. In 2015，Omidyar reportedly donated $ 270 million worth of his eBay shares to undisclosed（未公开的）charity. So far，he has given away $ 1 billion or so.

The chairman and CEO of the computer manufacturer，Dell，likes to support education，social and human services，the arts and culture，and community development causes. According to Wealth-X，his lifetime donations are about $ 1.1 billion. His foundation promised to donate $ 25 million to build a 211-bed hospital in Austin，Texas.

James Simons is the chairman of Renaissance Technologies, a very successful firm that owns $ 65billion. With his wife Marilyn, he opened the Simons Foundation, which primarily supports educational causes. They have also opened two other organizations in memory of their two sons who died in 1996 and in 2003: the Paul Simons Foundation and the Nick Simons Foundation. Altogether, the Simons couple have made $ 1.2 billion worth of donations.