Christmas Volunteer

You're bloated, dyspeptic and woozy from all the alcohol and you've just slumped in front of the TV to watch Indiana Jones for the umpteenth time. Discarded toys are a trip hazard and the dishes are stacked up. Oh, and you've been bickering with your relatives all morning. Sound familiar? Welcome to Christmas, which is upon us once again, no matter how hard you try to ignore it.

This year, why not forego the turkey, switch off the TV and do something completely different - such as volunteering? Many of us would admit that we've always thought about volunteering at Christmas, but few have actually done it. Yet research has shown that volunteering your time reduces your blood pressure, improves your social relations, makes you understand people better, and is even associated with decreased depression. It makes a lot of sense. I certainly get a bit of a buzz out of being helpful to others, it's a fair payoff.

This year I hope to work with Crisis who are a charity for the homeless that need extra support at Christmas. They run 9 centres in and around London over the festive period and need over 6000 dedicated volunteers to make it work. If you interested check out their website on general volunteering its very rewarding and worth while. In the past I have worked at council funded Christmas events so try your local council for information on volunteering.