People drive hundreds of kilometers to get to a good restaurant, and working together makes the Dutch part of the South Ostrobothnian village community. Community is good for the individual, but Liiver's survey also revealed surprising social effects: those who volunteered in projects rated their work ability as better than the average Finn. Respondents said that volunteer work has a positive effect on mental well-being, social relationships, and a sense of belonging. And when social isolation is starting to become a bigger national health risk than obesity, volunteers don't mind loneliness at all.
The results are not surprising. Karoliina Streefkerk. A fire in the city centre drove her and her Dutch husband to move to the village of Hanhikoski, a village of a couple of hundred people. Although their hands were full with work on the log house they had moved from North Karelia, Karoliina and Jeroen joined in the village's joint activities.
– We unpacked the moving load on Friday and on Saturday I went to the village hall for elk soup. I even got my husband to join me for the Christmas porridge party, Karoliina laughs.
Participating in joint events and volunteer work was a way to get to know the neighborhood.
Low-threshold meeting places
Other respondents to Liiver's volunteer survey also shared similar experiences. Participating in a village or hobby group's kökkä made it easier to settle into a new community.
– According to researchers, moving, retirement and other life transitions increase the risk of isolation. It's great to think that project workshops can offer a low-threshold place to meet people in these situations, says Liiver's designer Telle Lemetyinen.
Project work seems to be a useful throw-in product for associations. When respondents volunteered for the first time, one in three did the work related to a project. Project work differed from the association's other work due to the concrete nature of the work and the clear goal, which in turn motivated participation. Of the respondents, 80 % said that volunteer work lowered the threshold for participating in other activities of the association.
Best friends and good-bye acquaintances
Those who responded to the survey had found not only new acquaintances but also real friends through the help groups. This was also the case for Karoliina, who joined the village activities.
– I especially appreciate contacts I would never have thought of becoming friends with. My circle of friends has become more diverse, and that is something that is important in life.
The importance of finding meaningful companionship should not be underestimated, as a lack of social relationships doubles the risk of premature death and exposes a person to many serious illnesses. Lonely people use social and health services significantly more than their peers.
– One tenth of the Finnish adult population feels lonely quite often or constantly. None of the people who participated in the charity events experienced this. It would seem that loneliness is a global problem that can be solved with local means, Lemetyinen estimates.
Happiness increases
In addition to a good team, volunteers are driven by the feeling of well-being that comes from doing the work.
– At first, Jeroen found it difficult to understand what motivated him to do unpaid work. There is no similar tradition of working and building together in the Netherlands. However, little by little, he has come to understand that joint projects bring meaningful content to life and provide experiences of success.
The rewarding nature of the work was reflected in the volunteers' responses, including the fact that every one of them had felt happy in the past four weeks. Only half of Finns experience this. The responses are in line with previous studies, which show that volunteering increases people's happiness.
– Almost all respondents were of the opinion that volunteering has a positive effect on their mental well-being. For half of them, it reduced stress. Perhaps partly for this reason, their own work ability was also assessed as better than the average in Finland, Lemetyinen reflects.
In the future, however, Karoliina will be motivated more by her six-week-old first daughter than by her sense of well-being:
– It's true that we are also providing a good life for our future generations.