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Making a resolution to volunteer is a great way to start off the new year.

 METRO NEWSPAPER SERVICE

It’s the last day of the year and I am ready to look ahead to what 2024 has in store. This is the time of year many of us make New Year’s resolutions, looking to improve some part of our lives. If you make a resolution, you will be joining the about 40% of Americans who make a New Year’s resolution according to a recent Marist Poll.

Many of the resolutions people make focus on health, with the most popular resolutions including exercising more, eating healthier and losing weight. Other popular resolutions focus on personal finances and increasing saving, reducing work-related stress or improving work-life balance. One thing these popular resolutions have in common is they tend to be individually focused.

If you are considering making a New Year’s resolution, what is the goal behind your resolution?

Self-improvement is a popular reason for making a New Year’s resolution, and that reason is behind many of the health- and fitness-related resolutions people make.

Another possibility to consider is making a resolution that has a goal of benefiting neighbors or others in the community. This kind of resolution might look like offering to help a neighbor or volunteering with an organization in our area.

We all know that keeping a resolution can be hard work, with many resolutions falling by the wayside by the end of January or February. Experts tell us that there are things we can do to increase our odds of keeping a resolution. One thing we can do is to break a goal into smaller pieces.

If your resolution is to start volunteering in the community, it could mean setting an initial goal of volunteering once to get started. By starting with volunteering once, you can make it a more manageable challenge at the beginning and increase the likelihood of continuing to volunteer going forward.

Another helpful step is creating some kind of accountability. That might include volunteering with a friend or family member, telling someone else about your volunteering goal or even adding your goal to your calendar. Any kind of external support increases your odds of success and can help put you in that relatively small group of people who successfully keep their resolutions.

Volunteer at the ECHOS Emergency Winter Shelter

Elizabethtown Community Housing and Outreach Services (ECHOS) is looking for volunteers to serve at their Emergency Winter Shelter, which provides a place to stay for people in urgent need.

Volunteers are needed to fill three main roles at the shelter.

— Evening greeters, who serve from 6 to 9 p.m. They help guests check in, serve dinner and help get guests settled for the night.

— Overnight volunteers, who serve from 9 p.m. to 6:30 a.m. They spend the night at the shelter, serving with another volunteer alternating times for sleeping and monitoring.

— Morning clean-up volunteers, who serve from 6:30 to 8:30 a.m. They help prepare breakfast and help guests get ready for the day.

To find out more and to volunteer please visit: tinyurl.com/ECHOSVolunteer.

VITA volunteer greeters

The Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program is looking for more volunteer greeters for this year’s tax season. Greeters help visitors to VITA tax preparation sites and help confirm that they have the necessary documents to complete their tax returns.

Certification is required, and training is provided. To volunteer please visit: tinyurl.com/VITAGreeters.

Find more volunteer opportunities

Visit the United Way of Lancaster County’s Get Connected volunteer portal at uwlanc.galaxydigital.com. At the site you’ll find a variety of volunteer needs from around the area, and you’ll be able to sign up for updates as new needs are submitted.

Joel Janisewski is director of the volunteer center and community listening for United Way of Lancaster County.

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