Natasha Agarwal

A recent AmeriCorps report noted that 61 million Americans volunteered with at least one organization during its yearlong study, completing an estimated 4.1 billion volunteer hours.

Their time, which averages out to almost 68 hours annually per volunteer, had an economic value of $123 billion for the organizations they served. But despite these statistics, volunteerism in the United States is at an all-time low. Americans have provided two main reasons for this decline in philanthropy: (1) They don’t have time, or (2) They don’t know where or how to volunteer. In honor of April being National Volunteer Month, I would like to share how volunteerism has impacted me.

Three years ago, I started a nonprofit organization called BelieveNBooks, which distributes new and gently used reading materials to underserved children by hosting book drives in schools, communities and offices. When I originally had this idea, I was excited to get started. However, I was unaware of how many steps, hours and people are needed to complete one successful book drive. Looking back, one of the most impactful phone calls that we received was from Florida Gulf Coast University. They asked if we would like to be one of their service-learning partners to help provide their college students with service hours.

These FGCU students have become the heart of BelieveNBooks. They have donated thousands of hours of their time to sort, pack and deliver books for us. This has allowed us to delegate work based on the strengths of each volunteer and maximize our efficiency as an organization.

In March 2024, we distributed our 100,000th book and have impacted over 7,500 children who have limited access to reading materials. Much of this has been due to our tremendous volunteer network as BelieveNBooks has no paid employees. In a small organization like ours, the contributions of each individual can make all the difference in our success. Now is the perfect time to get started.

Here are some suggestions:

• Identify 2-3 areas of passion: Everyone has a few charitable causes near and dear to their heart. There are so many options: education, arts and culture, the environment, animal welfare, health care, human services, religion, public safety, recreation, social justice, affordable housing and more. We live in an extremely philanthropic area, and the sky is the limit on finding opportunities.

• Find a local organization: Every cause has many charitable organizations providing valuable services in the community. United Way of Lee, Hendry, and Glades, as well as United Way of Collier and the Keys, offer searchable databases to find local nonprofits in need of volunteers. Another option is Volunteer Florida, which lets users search for service opportunities based on dates, location, cause and activity type.

• Make time: Everyone has a busy schedule, but consider sharing your time and skills with an organization where you can help create significant change and leave a lasting impact. This may include smaller organizations that are “start-ups.”

Many organizations offer flexible opportunities so more people can get involved.

Remember, your impact on an organization can be meaningful. But you may be surprised by how much volunteerism impacts your outlook, sense of community and overall well-being.

Natasha Agarwal is a 17-year-old student at Canterbury School in Fort Myers and founder of BelieveNBooks, a nonprofit that has distributed more than 100,000 books to underprivileged children and teens in Southwest Florida. Visit BelieveNBooks.org for more information.