You’ve probably planned how you’ll spend and enjoy your golden years after your retirement. You’ll finally have the chance and time to do what you’ve always wanted. After retirement, you will be free to go traveling or pursue a hobby or activity you’ve always wanted to try – hopefully, nothing too dangerous though. However, a few months into your retirement – after the excitement has died down – you’ll probably start experiencing the psychological effects of retiring from work.
Many people identify themselves by their profession. That’s why retiring often causes people to question their purpose, now that they’re no longer working. There are many things you can do to make your retirement more bearable. You can pick up a new hobby, or you can always go back to work. However, if you want to spend your retirement years in a meaningful way, there are many humanitarian aid organizations you can join.
What is a measurable social impact?
Environmental catastrophes are increasing by the minute. Entire species are disappearing at such alarming rates, and people are being left without the means to take care of their basic needs.
As a citizen of this world, it is part of everyone’s responsibility to help heal the world and make it a better place for future generations. That’s why your social impact on a pressing social challenge is very important. The three areas of social injustice the world needs to focus on are world hunger, deforestation, and animal abuse.
Social impact is the positive change you or your organization has created over time. The change could be economic, social, and/or environmental. This means advocating and putting a positive social impact at the heart of what you do. You should also be able to determine, understand, capture, and measure the value of the impact of your activities.
With a measurable social impact, achieving your goals will be a lot easier. It will also help you effectively communicate the value and impact of your work to help attract additional funding.
Why working with humanitarian organizations after retirement is meaningful
Feeling like you’ve lost your identity is like losing a part of you, especially if you’ve always identified yourself by your profession. But, retirement can be a good time to reinvent yourself and find a new ‘identity.’ For many, that means traveling or pursuing a passion they’ve put aside because of work. However, if you want to spend your retirement years doing meaningful work, a lot of humanitarian aid organizations will be more than happy to have you on board.
So, what makes humanitarian aid an important and meaningful work?
- Each year, the world sees people suffering from armed conflicts, natural disasters, and other crises. Your purpose of joining a humanitarian aid organization will be to provide assistance to relieve human suffering while maintaining human dignity during and after a crisis.
- Humanitarian aid organizations and their team of volunteers – including you – may not be able to save everyone. But, you can help save many impoverished people – especially children – from starving to death.
- Humanitarians help everyone in need, no matter where they are. They will go through hoops to reach even the most unusual and remote area to be able to send help. Of course, that doesn’t mean you have to go there yourself. If you can’t be there physically, you can still help by raising funds. You can have a simple garage sale or spearhead a small charity event and have all the proceeds go to your choice of NGO or humanitarian organization.
- Humanitarian aid provides a safe haven for refugees from war-torn countries. Again, if you can’t be on the site personally, there are still a lot of ways you can do to help. Aside from helping raise funds, you can help pack the relief goods and other supplies.
- Humanitarians understand the importance of education, especially in vulnerable locations. It is, after all, one of the essential ingredients in building sustainable and long-term growth. You can volunteer to teach the children, even if it’s just basic writing and reading skills.
- Many NGOs and humanitarian aid organizations also include saving animals and the environment from abuse as part of their advocacy. If you believe in what they are fighting for, then helping them achieve their goals will make a lot of sense.
So, when all has been said and done, volunteering can give you a new sense of purpose – even after retirement. You can leave a positive impact on the lives of many people and the environment by spending your retirement years as a humanitarian volunteer. There is nothing more satisfying and rewarding than being able to help make a difference in the world.
And, on the plus side, several studies confirm that giving and sharing is good for your health. For instance, those who regularly share their blessings report that they experience less stress. They are also generally much happier than those who do not.
Spending on vacations Vs. Donating to humanitarian organizations?
Going on a vacation does not come cheap, especially if you’re going abroad. There are a lot of costs you need to consider, such as airfare, accommodation, transportation, and food. Nothing is wrong with spending your hard-earned money on yourself. However, if you want a more meaningful way to spend your money, you can always donate to a humanitarian aid organization whose advocacy is the same as yours.
A study by a professor and his colleagues from the University of Oregon demonstrates how charitable contributions produce a surge of endorphins and dopamine in the brain. This gives a person an immensely rewarding feeling in the deepest parts of their physiology – more so than buying a new outfit or a night out on the town.
Going on vacation – getting to see new sights and meet new people – all add to your memorable experiences. However, the happiness and satisfaction you get from helping other people can last a lifetime. It even helps reduce stress. In fact, there is a study at the University of Tennessee and Johns Hopkins University stating that charitable givers experience lower blood pressure and reduced rates of stress compared to those who don’t give.
Another proof of this comes from a German study. According to this study, people who give more to others in terms of time and resources experience more satisfaction in life. Being able to make a difference in the world – no matter how small a contribution it is – is already its own reward.
How OMGuarantee helps people in need?
OM GUARANTEE™ is the core product of feedOM™, whose mission is to connect conscious and socially responsible individuals and companies to people and communities in need all over the world. They provide an avenue for these companies to engage in a mutually profitable and measurable humanitarian effort to put an end to child hunger, deforestation, and animal abuse. This program aims to establish the highest standards possible when it comes to ticking off all the boxes of conscious and socially-responsible consumerism.
feedOM encourages everyone to take a stand against poverty and hunger, as well as deforestation and animal cruelty. You can join their advocacies and start making a measurable and positive difference in the world by getting OM Guaranteed. Part of their future plans include providing a mobile marketplace for OM Guaranteed companies and consumers for a more convenient way to purchase OMG products online.
This article is thoughtfully sponsored by the vegan marketers at Ardor SEO and the influence marketer who wishes to raise awareness for organizations that help people and benefit the world with their actions.
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