[vc_row type=”in_container” full_screen_row_position=”middle” scene_position=”center” text_color=”dark” text_align=”left” overlay_strength=”0.3″ shape_divider_position=”bottom” bg_image_animation=”none”][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_link_target=”_self” column_shadow=”none” column_border_radius=”none” width=”1/1″ tablet_width_inherit=”default” tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid” bg_image_animation=”none”][vc_column_text]What Is A Donation

When it comes to a donation it may come in various forms and it may be given for various benefits or causes. A donation comes in many different forms and they are food, money, services, toys, and clothing. Donations can be given for humanitarian aid such as after a natural disaster or just to a charity. There is also something known as medical donations and this is when an individual donates blood or an organ to help another person. When an individual or company donates they do not expect to get anything in return.

Reasons Why Donating Can Improve The Donators Lives

Donating Increases Happiness

When it comes to donating most people do it because it makes them feel as if they are making a positive difference in the world. It gives them a sense of purpose. There have been many studies done on people who donate from adults to children. Studies have shown that individuals who help others get a boost of happiness from it. An example one particular study that was done on individuals who were involved in volunteer work. The results of this study showed that individuals who did volunteer work had significantly increased levels of happiness in their lives.

What Effect Does Donating Have on the Community?

Donating builds stronger communities by helping individuals to create new friendships. When an individual helps someone in a positive way it builds a bond between them and the individuals that they have helped. Donating also creates trust with the people within the community. To sum it up donating just makes a community stronger and more connected.

Is Donating Good for Individuals Health?

Research has been done to compare how donating can possibly have a positive effect on a person’s health. This positive effect that donating can possibly have on an individual’s health is not just for healthy individuals but it is also for the sick and elderly as well. A professor of medicine at Stony Brook University by the name of Stephen Post wrote a book on the research that was done on donating and the positive effects that it has had on the health of different individuals suffering from chronic diseases. The book stated the individuals suffering from diseases such as multiple sclerosis and HIV had improved health conditions after they were involved in affecting someone else’s life in a positive way through donations. Back in 1999, another study was done by a professor at the University of California, Berkeley by the name of Doug Oman. In his study, he found that elderly individuals who volunteered for at least two organizations live longer than individuals who did not volunteer even if they were in great health.

Does Giving Promote Gratitude?

Studies and research have been done that is proven that one of the key things to happiness, social bonds, and good health is gratitude. The way for an individual to gain gratitude is by being on the giving end or the receiving end of a gift or donation. Donating is one of the key ways of how gratitude can be expressed or instilled into an individual. There is something called the Research Project On Gratitude and Thankfulness that is headed by two individuals by the names of Robert Emmons and Michael McCullough. They conducted research on college students the research involved teaching them to “count their blessings” and cultivate gratitude. The results were that they noticed that college students exercise more and were more optimistic about their futures.

Donating helps Individuals to Cope with Stress Positively

There was research done that has proven that helping others does decrease and help individuals to manage stress and adversity better. There was a study done with college students. The students took a trip where they went to help the poor. These same students were assessed a few months later in comparison with students who did not make the trip to help the poor. The study found that the students that took the trip to help the poor managed stress and adversity much better than their peers who did not.

Donating is Good for an Individual’s Career

If an individual has a career that is centered around helping people such as a medical professional, firefighter, or psychologist. These individuals have high ratings of job satisfaction. The reason why is because all of their jobs are centered around helping other people. The study also showed that individuals in these professions are more committed to their jobs, less likely to quit, and prioritize helping their co-workers and the public.

Pay it Forward

When individuals donate researchers think that it may cause a pay it forward mentality throughout the community. Two professors by the names of James Fowler and Nicholas Christakis wrote a publication on how when one individual observes another individual performing an act of generosity that they themselves behave in the same manner toward a different individual later. So there has been research done proving that donating can be contagious.

Effects Business Positively 

The goal of a business is to make money but the way that the business makes money is by finding ways to help people with a problem. Here are a few examples of how businesses help people by solving problems. The first is Google they have made internet searches easier, faster, and provided great search results. The next example is Amazon they have made online selling and purchasing easier for individuals. This gives the business owner profits but it also makes them feel good that they have solved a problem for their customers or users.

Life Extension 

There was a study done on volunteer work and this study showed that individuals who do volunteer work actually live longer than individuals who do not. The study showed that these individuals have low rates of depression, it lowers their risk of dying by 22%, and the volunteer work was good for their mental health.

Overall Improvement 

Individuals that help people or donate seem to fulfill one of the most basic human needs and that is forming a bond with other people. When they help other people besides forming a positive bond they also enjoy seeing the positive change that they have made in someone else’s life. These two things alone are a way to help individuals to find meaning in their own personal life.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]