Volunteering has made a positive difference to my life. It has allowed me to be involved in the community and connect with new people. Volunteering gives me something new to talk about and helps me feel like I still have skills to offer despite having a chronic illness.
Why should you volunteer when you have a chronic illness?
Volunteering builds experience, new skills and knowledge as well as giving you a sense of achievement. It can give you an idea of how far your energy goes in a work environment and gets you out of the house interacting with people. Volunteering helps you work out what sort of tasks you can still do with your chronic illness symptoms and energy limitations. You may discover patterns like that your energy lasts longer doing certain tasks but runs out in minutes on others.
You may find that an organization that provides support for your particular chronic illness can offer you a volunteering opportunity. There may be an annual fundraising event, blog, newsletter, peer support program, that you could participate with in some capacity.