voluntary organisations, social enterprises and volunteering
voluntary organisations, social enterprises and volunteering
voluntary organisations, social enterprises and volunteering
Give and Rewire: Our Brains on Volunteering
Created: 29/05/2026News/Events Category: Volunteering
Please note: this item has expired and is here for reference only. Please contact us to find out more.
Volunteer Airdie have shared a blog post written by Kristy McConnell, Registered Psychologist, Founder of Off the Beaten Path Psychology & Wellness about the effects of volunteering on the brain.
She says "In the late 1980s, researcher Allan Luks surveyed thousands of regular volunteers and coined the term "helper's high" to describe the warm, slightly euphoric feeling people reported after giving their time. The neuroscience has since caught up. Prosocial behaviour, the fancy phrase for doing kind things for others, activates the same reward circuitry as food, connection, and exercise. Oxytocin rises, cortisol drops, and the nervous system settles. In plain terms, helping sort donations on a Saturday morning is doing something kind for your brain while you're doing something kind for your neighbours."
Read more about this and the longer term impacts of volunteering.
What now?
See other news/events in the Volunteering category
Go to the main News page
Tell us about your own news
Suggest an update/report an error/enquire about this page
News/Events Categories:
Carer Support (4 items)Children and Families (13 items)
Climate/Environment (2 items)
Community Events (10 items)
Consultations (6 items)
Employability (5 items)
Funding and Finance (59 items)
FVA News (5 items)
General News (14 items)
Governance (26 items)
Health and Social Care (39 items)
Job Vacancies (21 items)
Partnerships, Networks and Forums (23 items)
Social Enterprise (4 items)
Technology (2 items)
Training and Learning (102 items)
Volunteering (53 items)
Go to the main News page
