There’s no doubt that being able to see the results of hours of your hard work, makes putting the time in a little easier.

And when countless hours spent volunteering to help make tissue paper flowers for a Mother’s Day charity event goes from a pile of paper on your dining room floor, to a beautiful venue…

you smile and feel good inside.

I believe volunteering makes a difference – in both the individual who does the volunteering, and in the world around us.

With our busy lives today, it’s easy to say we don’t have time, but the rewards of volunteering even as little as one hour of our time can be enormous. It can be a chance to give something back, gain new experiences, develop skills, meet new people and socialize, or get out and discovery more of your community.

Our children are required to complete 40 hours of volunteer work before they can graduate from high school, but why stop there? And shouldn’t we set the example for them?

I volunteer my time in different ways: as a member of the parent council at my daughter’s school, at different school functions, and often for various local running and charity events in our community.

Over the past couple of weeks, I spent hours making tissue paper flowers alongside my youngest daughter for a local Mother’s Day charity event. She’s too young to have her volunteer hours count toward her required hours for high school just yet, but our little girl gladly put in her time regardless.

In the end, we were able to attend the event, a Mother’s Day high tea, and see how our hard work brightened up the venue and brought both smiles and a touch of spring to the room. While both my daughter and I are not too eager to see another tissue paper flower for a while, I know we’ll step up again next year with a smile and do it all over again if given the chance.

Do you volunteer your time in any way? What reward or benefits do you gain?