Health

Volunteerism

The Benefits of Volunteering

"By fostering connection, purpose and engagement, volunteering not only enriches individuals’ lives, but also offers a critical response to today’s pressing public health challenges." 

— From Nice to Necessary: Unleashing the Impact of Volunteering Through Transformative Investment, Points of Light, 2025

During the development of the current Community Health Improvement Plan (CHIP), our community identified community-building spaces, social support, and connection as top priorities for improving health and wellbeing in Larimer County. Volunteerism offers a powerful means to meet those needs.

Volunteering & Mental Health

Volunteering has significant mental health benefits. Research has shown that volunteering leads to lower rates of depression and anxiety, especially for people ages 65 and older. Volunteering has also been shown to reduce stress and alleviate feelings of loneliness and hopelessness. 

Those who volunteer regularly report more positive feelings both about themselves and their community. Volunteering offers many a sense of purpose and greater life satisfaction. Research has shown that volunteers report more self-esteem and a greater sense of self-efficacy than their peers who do not volunteer. They also report a greater sense of appreciation for their community and feeling more appreciated as an individual. 

Interestingly, those who give their time to a cause they care about, were shown to have a greater sense of time-affluency, or perception of how much they were able to do with their time.

Volunteering & Connection

Volunteering provides opportunities to meet new people, increase social interactions, and build or expand your support network. Volunteering with friends and family is also a great way to strengthen existing relationships.

Research has shown that volunteers are less socially isolated and report a greater sense of belonging and social connectedness than their peers. Volunteering also has a ripple effect - people are more likely to volunteer if someone in their social circle volunteers and those who volunteer are more likely to participate in other acts of civic engagement such as voting.

The Impact

Nationally, nearly one-third of the nonprofit workforce is made up of volunteers. Here in Colorado, more than 1.6 million volunteers contributed 92,457,138 hours of service to organizations in 2023. This volunteering contributed $3.4 billion in economic value. On average, about one-third of Colorado residents volunteer.

Volunteers have a significant impact in Larimer County. In 2024:

  • 181 people volunteered as Court Appointed Special Advocates with CASA of Larimer County, donating 7,998 hours and serving 319 children.
  • 394 people volunteered with Meals on Wheels of Loveland and Berthoud to deliver 92,698 meals and provide 84,258 social and wellness visits for 783 clients.
  • 11,188 people donated more than 69,000 hours to the Food Bank for Larimer County to distribute 12.24 million pounds of food to more than 54,000 individuals facing food insecurity.
  • Volunteers donated 3,052 hours to Neighbor to Neighbor to help prevent 811 evictions, 355 utility shut-offs, 659 foreclosures and help 117 clients move into stable homes.
  • 251 people volunteered with The Matthews House, donating 2,801 hours to support 2,937 families and young adults with education, resource navigation, relationship building, and more.

This is just a small portion of the work volunteers contribute to our community. Volunteerism drives meaningful and lasting change at the individual, community, and societal level.

The Need

About 50% of critical volunteer openings remain unfilled each year. 

Many organizations have struggled to fill volunteer positions since the pandemic. From 2019 to 2021, formal volunteering in Colorado decreased by 16 percent. Since 2021, we have made up about half of that deficit, but volunteering rates are still well below pre-pandemic levels.

Get Started

No matter the size of the commitment, volunteering can have a positive impact for you and your community. Consider what you are passionate about and look for an opportunity that matches your skills, interests, and schedule. 

Find local volunteer opportunities at volunteermatch.org.

  Expand All   Collapse All

Tirzah - Meals on Wheels of Loveland & Berthoud

Tirzah, a volunteer at Meals on Wheels, smiles at the camera while sharing her story.
Tirzah has been volunteering with Meals on Wheels of Loveland and Berthoud for about nine months. She shared a bit about her experience with us. You can read her story below or watch the full interview here.

 

How did you start volunteering with Meals on Wheels of Loveland and Berthoud?

I knew people that were volunteering and I was very interested so I asked them, “What are some of the points and parts that you are getting out of this?” because I wanted to help in my community. I’m very pro-volunteer. I also drive by this facility a lot. 

I became more interested when I felt like I was talking to a lot of people about volunteering, but I wasn’t actually volunteering. So I thought, I need to step through that door and actually make a difference. It’s easy to say I want to, but then I wasn’t doing it. So that’s how I originally started - just walking through the doors.

How has volunteering impacted you?

It’s impacted me in different ways. I do give back to the community in different ways, but this one particularly - I thought I would just drop off meals and that would be it. But the reciprocity piece has been a big deal for me. 

Going into people’s homes, at first they aren’t sure, and a lot of people don’t really see other people throughout their day. So we are a face of hope and bring them food so they don’t have to cook, but also camaraderie and friendship. I have gotten to know a few of the people that I deliver to and it’s become much more personal. I’ve gotten to know their families. They’re just amazing people and some weren’t very friendly in the beginning. So I think it also represents a small piece of hope for each person. 

It’s become a colder world where sometimes people just don’t interact. So it has represented that to me, that I get to see and connect with people and be a part of their life. I love it. It’s been great. 

And it is a reciprocity piece. I think when people talk about volunteering, it is a piece where you’re giving your time, you’re giving your energy and you’re not getting money for it, but you’re getting so much more back.

Karin - CASA of Larimer County

Karin shares a bit about her experience volunteering with CASA of Larimer County.
Karin has been volunteering with CASA of Larimer County for three years. She shared a bit about her experience with us. You can read her story below or watch the full interview here.

 

How did you start volunteering with CASA of Larimer County?

I retired almost five years ago and at that time we moved to Colorado. It’s always been my wish to be intentional with my retirement time and CASA was on my bucket list to be a part of. I have always had kids in my life and it just felt like it was important to weave that in here.

How has volunteering impacted you?

CASA has been just an amazing organization for me. When I first started it was a little overwhelming in terms of the process and exposure to what our kids are going through in a new way for me. I’ve had a lot of friends say, “That’s something I could never do.” But over time, I’ve really tried to challenge that because really the beauty of advocating for these kids is trying to plant seeds in them of what their wonder is, what their hope is for the future, what they’re capable of, their uniqueness, showing examples of advocating for them and encouraging them to advocate for themselves – these are older kids that I’ve worked with. For me, it’s just been a super endearing time to be able to be part of these kids' lives in what is one of the most tragic times and try to walk side by side with these kids and offer them hope for what’s to come.

North Forty Mountain Alliance Food Pantry

Darlene, Shirley, Charlie, Jill, and Lillie, volunteers at the North Forty Mountain Alliance Food Pantry
Darlene, Shirley, Charlie, Jill, and Lillie volunteer at the North Forty Mountain Alliance Food Pantry in Red Feather Lakes. They shared a bit about their experience with us. You can read their story below or watch the full interview here.

 

How did you start volunteering at the North Forty Mountain Alliance Food Pantry?

Shirley & Charlie: It was a personal need that we had at the time and a friend recommended the pantry. So we came and we started to volunteer. We thought, you know, we’re partaking of all the wonderful things and that we ought to give back.

Jill: I found out about the North Forty Food Bank through the library when I went there one day asking what volunteer opportunities there were in Red Feather.

Lillie: I retired from nursing in Fort Collins and was looking for something to do to fill some time and a friend of mine who was already volunteering told me about this. So I came and volunteered one day and that’s all it took - I was hooked.

How has volunteering impacted you?

Shirley & Charlie: I like seeing people get what they need. I see people go through the basement here at the church and they’re filling up with stuff that keeps them going through the week. And that’s just so good to see: here’s people getting food that is not going to go to waste. And the other pantry is all the way in Fort Collins.

If you want to volunteer, we have so much fun. Volunteers are such kind, warm-hearted people and we have fun too, so that is an added bonus.

Jill: The reason why I chose to volunteer with the food bank is that my background is in food and nutrition. I find it very important for people to have good healthful food and a variety of foods. I feel grateful for the food choices that are offered at this food bank.

Lillie: I’ve really enjoyed meeting so many people from Red Feather. We live up at Crystal Lakes, so I didn’t know that many people in Red Feather. I’ve met so many people. 

I love the fact that I’m able to help get the food from Fort Collins up here to Red Feather. We help so many families, so many young families, that really need this to be able to feed their families. So it just feels good to be part of that.

Darlene: Currently we have probably 30 to 40, 50 people that continuously volunteer. What’s amazing to watch is how they help each other - they create their own community. I’ve had one of our volunteers say that this is now her family, everyone that is here. It connects people when we are isolated. It is a form of connection - food always brings people together. By doing that we are able to strengthen our community and our resilience here by offering a way to help people in such a direct and immediate fashion, with food.

The volunteers have created this very strong community and a feeling of being needed, knowing they are valuable, and they are not alone. We are their family and we take care of each other.

Our culture can be very insular, where everyone is expected to care for themselves and provide everything they need and not ask for help and I think that makes us not as strong as we can be. When we come together, then we’re stronger as a whole than we are just as a singular unit. That is what this has created.