33 Weeks to go...

We had our first volunteers meeting this week, and what a lovely bunch our volunteers are! It’s so great to share in the warmth and enthusiasm of like minded book lovers. So many ideas. So much good will.  I was looking at a University of Sydney site* that talks about the benefits of volunteering. Let me quote a few for you.

1. Satisfaction with life is at least partially dependent on living a life with purpose and meaning.  Volunteering provides both these things in spades.
2. Volunteering keeps you in a positive mood and can help lift you out of a negative mood.
3. It triggers the reward pathway in the brain known as the mesolimbic system. It releases “feel-good” neurotransmitters such as oxytocin and vasopressin. The buzz you get from these neurotransmitters is sometimes known as “the helpers high”.
4. Volunteering is an adventure. Meeting people from different walks of life and different ways of life brings together unexpected experience

But also…..to get the full benefits of volunteering, the trick is to get involved in something you’re passionate about. That’s us! 

It’s not too late to get involved. Our next meeting is on Monday 28th March at the Uniting Hall Berry at 5pm.  

Meanwhile, don’t stop reading.  Very new off the press is a first novel from the Walkley Award winning journalist, social commentator and author, Jane Caro. It is called The Mother and is billed as  ‘a gripping domestic thriller with a moral dilemma at its core.’ Can’t wait to read it and to hear Jane discuss it in October.  * https://www.sydney.edu.au/news-opinion/news/2017/05/03/7-surprising-benefits-of-volunteering-.html

Suzanne