A season for service

Spring offers special opportunities for connection and giving — powerful ways to boost mental health, experts say.

“Giving and volunteering combines these two key elements in mental health, even if the work we are doing is at home or performed online.”

Employees facing high levels of stress

Today’s workforce is balancing new pressures, and burnout is on the rise, surveys have found.

In response, companies are providing new forms of support, such as mental health webinars and paid time off for mental health.

Volunteering can be another resource for stress management, Harris notes.

Researchers have found volunteering is correlated with improved emotional well-being.

One study of 1,500 adults found that volunteering boosted mental health, physical health, life satisfaction, and social well-being, as well as decreasing rates of depression. Others have found people who volunteer report better health and greater happiness than people who do not.

Giving back as an employee health benefit

Companies including Blue Cross increasingly are offering virtual and in-person volunteer opportunities as productive ways to manage stress, boost morale and keep workers engaged and connected, while contributing to local communities.

In celebration of National Volunteer Month, Blue Cross is hosting 19 in-person and virtual volunteer events to give its 3,700 employees the opportunity to give back.

“We know our colleagues are eager to reconnect and support our communities but that there isn’t a one-size-fits all for either our employees or our community partners,” said Pauline Murnin, Blue Cross manager of civic engagement. “We want to give people a variety of options to give back so they can support the missions and organizations closest to their hearts in a way that is comfortable for them.”

New options for volunteering

Flexibility has been key to driving participation, companies have found, including adjusting volunteer options based on fluctuating COVID-19 levels and accommodating different levels of comfort.

Blue Cross recently hosted its first onsite volunteer project since 2020 at its Hingham office. The project filled within 20 minutes of being posted on the company’s online volunteer portal.

“I loved getting to reconnect with my colleagues while supporting a great cause,” said Lisa Thomas, director of product marketing at Blue Cross, who participated in the project after working at home for the last 22 months. “I hadn’t seen old friends in months, and had the opportunity to meet a new colleague who I had only met on Zoom.”

On a sunny day with the conference room doors open and music playing, Thomas gathered with 35 other volunteers to assemble 5,700 Tools for Tiny Hands minikits designed to promote fine motor skills. The kits will be distributed to under-resourced children via Boston Children’s Museum’s collaboration with Boston Family Engagement Network and the Massachusetts library system.

Blue Cross works with community partners to offer a wide range of remote and community-based volunteer projects as well. So far this year, the not-for-profit health plan has engaged over 530 employees in volunteer service, and throughout April will engage an additional 350 employees.

At-home options include projects such as creating survival paracord bracelets for military and first responders with Operation Gratitude, making birthday banners for children in the hospital with Confetti Foundation, writing uplifting notes to seniors with Letters Against Isolation, and decorating pillowcases for children in foster care with Together We Rise.

In-person service opportunities include packaging activity kits for children in the hospital with Happy Hope Factory, harvesting and weeding at Holy Hill Farm, stocking food pantry shelves at Interfaith Social Services, playing recess games with students with Playworks and cleaning up the waterfronts and parklands along the Neponset River.

“Our virtual opportunities fill super quickly, but we also know that there are others who are yearning to get out of their house and be around other people,” Murnin noted. “Our in-person projects end up being like a reunion for our colleagues, with lots of hugs and catching up with friends they haven’t seen in months.”

Employees have noted the impact of these service opportunities on their mental and physical health.

“We work really hard at our jobs and being able to take a short break to give back to the community was energizing and felt different,” Thomas said. “There was so much positive energy in the room and I can’t wait for more in-person volunteer opportunities alongside my colleagues.”

_{PHOTOS VOLUNTEERS AT TOOLS FOR TINY HANDS BY MICHAEL GRIMMETT}