Becky Basowisty volunteers her time to accept donations in return for auction tickets at the 28th Annual Christmas Tree Festival at the Enmax Centre on Nov 20.

Winter is coming in at full force, meaning the lack of daylight and the change in temperature is beginning to have an impact on people’s mental health.

The most common form of challenges during the winter months is Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), or as it’s commonly known as winter-onset SAD. Symptoms of winter-onset SAD often include oversleeping, weight gain due to changes in appetite and low energy. One solution to feel better is involving yourself in the community by volunteering. 

Volunteering doesn’t have to be spending time at the shelter handing out meals and providing care for others. While those options still exist, other options for volunteering can be anything from helping out at a local event for the day performing certain jobs or walking dogs at the animal shelter. These activities may seem simple and mundane, but they result in providing aid to those who need it. Doing so can cause increased gratefulness in your own life and in turn lead to better mental health. Volunteering can distract yourself for a moment while providing relief from dwelling on things that cause a decline in mental health. 

Lori Harasem, Lethbridge College’s health promotion coordinator, says volunteering your time to help make life better for someone for a moment can return several benefits for your own health. 

“If you’re kind of feeling funky or stressed out, it’s a good way to spend an hour or two of your time and kind of refresh you to come back to your own life,” says Harasem.  

According to Jeffrey Carpenter in the article Why Volunteer? Evidence on the role of altruism, image, and incentives published by the Journal of Public Economics on July 15, paying small stipends increases the number of volunteers seen in some cases. This backs up the theory that without some form of material return, people may have no desire to volunteer.  

Volunteer Lethbridge is a local non-profit that works with local businesses and organizations to provide volunteers for any events they may be hosting. Amanda Jensen, executive director of Volunteer Lethbridge says the organization currently has a 20:1 ratio of volunteers to events respectfully. One of the partners of Volunteer Lethbridge works with is Christmas Hope, who is hosting this year’s Christmas Tree Festival to raise funds for the Chinook Regional Hospital.

Jensen says in the past volunteers have been looking for opportunities that are both semi-permanent and long-term, but over time the act of volunteering has become episodic or when it is convenient for the volunteer. 

“Episodic volunteering is where you know they can come in and come out as it fits their schedule. I would say that is one of the major changes that we’ve seen,” says Jensen.  

Jensen says most of the population wants to volunteer and be a part of their community since volunteering provides a sense of fulfillment, and this sense of fulfillment can be beneficial for mental health.  

The pandemic has lowered the number of those looking to volunteer due to health concerns while interacting with members of the public, however those numbers have begun to rise again and more people are now reaching out to volunteer again according to Jensen. 

If you are interested in becoming more involved in the community Volunteer Lethbridge encourages you to reach out and find out which opportunities are right for you. You can sign up to become a volunteer by visiting volunteerlethbridge.com.