Stay active, say alert, help wildlife

Over time, I have extolled the values of volunteering, especially at Liberty Wildlife. The benefits have included many different things depending, for instance, on the person’s age, experience, values, physical conditions. A study just sent to me by one of our volunteers, Craig, highlights another area of beneficial results…protection against cognitive decline and dementia.

It is pretty hard today to open a magazine, online news report, or documentary and not read or hear something about staving off a decline in cognitive functioning as we age…and aging is the goal, as the alternative isn’t good.

We take supplements. We get more rest. We get regular exercise. We stop all of our old bad habits. We spend time with family and friends. All of these efforts are good, but a bonus activity that takes some of the “self” out of it, is choosing to volunteer in an organization or program that has a mission that coincides with your values.

A study from UC Davis Health that was presented to the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference 2023 in Amsterdam concluded that “new data encourages individuals of all ages and backgrounds to engage in local volunteering—not only to benefit their communities, but potentially their own cognitive and brain health.” The key takeaways from the report indicate that volunteering could protect the brain from cognitive decline and dementia.

What I see at Liberty Wildlife is a great mix of all ages volunteering time to make life better for wildlife, nature, and the environment. There are so many levels of participation. We get a large number of young people who are starting their careers and are looking to learn more about potential employment, resume building and fulfilling interests. They are allowed to learn new skills that will help them through life either as a profession or a hobby.

For the empty nesters and retirees, it is often a different drive. Many are looking to follow a passion that didn’t bloom in the early years or got put off for a number of reasons…and all of the sudden they have both time and interest. These folks with great skills are a huge benefit to an organization like Liberty Wildlife. Those who have learned how to work with others, who have developed efficiencies in what they do, and have the work ethic needed to make it through raising a family and satisfying job needs, bring a great benefit to a non-profit.

We also see people who didn’t necessarily choose the life path that would last a lifetime. All of the sudden there is free time to pursue another passion. Helping wildlife or helping those helping nature and the wild world while it might not have been the educational path chosen can be experimented with in a volunteer position which provides the needed training, the hands on experience and the thrills of a life time…dementia be gone.

The other bonus is the camaraderie that comes from ‘hanging out’ with like-minded people while doing satisfying volunteer work. The study showed the power of staying engaged with people in the effort to stave off the loss of cognitive capacities. So, the win-win-win is that the individual is doing something that they find interesting; they are making friends and staying connected; they are helping a non-profit fill the gaps; and wildlife is the big winner.

Call a local non-profit that you support like Liberty Wildlife to see how you can help. Do it now and gain all of the benefits of that good deed. Your brain will thank you, the organization will thank you; your new friends will thank you and, maybe silently, wildlife will thank you, too.

https://libertywildlife.org/volunteer/