Demographer Richard Florida notes new research on the relationship between serving your community and personal well-being:
“Older Americans (65 and above) who reported engaging in community service had the highest levels of well-being. This is also not surprising, since older people in general have higher levels of happiness overall. But, interestingly, younger Americans ages 18 to 29 who reported community service recognition had the second highest levels of overall well-being (70.3), beating both those in the 30 to 45 and 46 to 64 age groups, who reported slightly lower levels.”
Across Michigan county governments always are in need of citizen volunteers to serve on boards, commissions or in a variety of other roles. For example, here’s Kent County’s information on volunteer opportunities.
Check with your county to see what’s available and get involved.