35+ Inspiring Quotes About Volunteering & the Joy of Serving Others

Whether you're on the fence about joining or trying to encourage a friend to join you, these quotes about volunteering are sure to motivate!

Volunteering is simply the best.

If you choose to volunteer, you are selflessly helping the people or animals in your community without asking for compensation in return. You give yourself a sense of purpose, while making people (or those homeless pets) happy, which should make you happier in return.

And, if you’re looking for how to get a job with no experience, volunteering makes a fine addition to your resume!

If you’re still on the fence, we’ve got just the thing to motivate you to sign up: dozens of the most inspiring quotes about volunteering on the web!


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Here are the most inspiring quotes about volunteering to know:

Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.

Helen Keller

Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do.

Steve Jobs

What is the essence of life? To serve others and to do good.

Aristotle

Doing nothing for others is the undoing of ourselves.

Horace Mann

Volunteering is an act of heroism on a grand scale. And it matters profoundly. It does more than help people beat the odds; it changes the odds.

Bill Clinton

Related Read: 25+ Ruth Bader Ginsburg Quotes on Equality, Change & the Rule of Law

We make a living by what we get. We make a life by what we give.

Winston Churchill

Volunteerism is the voice of the people put into action. These actions shape and mold the present into a future of which we can all be proud.

Helen Dyer

Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around.

Leo Buscaglia

Volunteers are the only human beings on the face of the earth who reflect this nation’s compassion, unselfish caring, patience, and just plain loving one another.

Erma Bombeck

If our hopes of building a better and safer world are to become more than wishful thinking, we will need the engagement of volunteers more than ever.

Kofi Annan

Our generation has the ability and the responsibility to make our ever-more connected world a more hopeful, stable and peaceful place.

Natalie Portman

Related Read: 55+ Best Climate Change Quotes to Inspire Action for the Environment

There is no better exercise for your heart than reaching down and helping to lift someone up.

Bernard Meltzer

As you grow older, you will discover that you have two hands — one for helping yourself, the other for helping others.

Audrey Hepburn

Volunteers do not necessarily have the time; they have the heart.

Elizabeth Andrew

Volunteering is at the very core of being a human. No one has made it through life without someone else’s help.

Heather French Henry

The smallest act of kindness is worth more than the grandest intention.

Oscar Wilde

We cannot live only for ourselves. A thousand fibers connect us with our fellow men.

Herman Melville

Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.

Arthur Ashe

Related Read: 25 Small Acts You Can Do to Have a Great Impact

The unselfish effort to bring cheer to others will be the beginning of a happier life for ourselves.

Helen Keller

Every person can make a difference, and every person should try.

John F. Kennedy

Good actions give strength to ourselves and inspire good actions in others.

Plato

Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, what are you doing for others?

Martin Luther King, Jr.

An effort made for the happiness of others lifts us above ourselves.

Lydia Maria Child

Everybody can be great. Because anybody can serve. You don’t have to have a college degree to serve. You don’t have to make your subject and your verb agree to serve. You don’t have to know the second theory of thermodynamics in physics to serve. You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love.

Martin Luther King, Jr.

Related Read: 10 Ways to Support the SDGs Without Spending Any Money

Only by giving are you able to receive more than you already have.

Jim Rohn

You give but little when you give of your possessions. It is when you give of yourself that you truly give.

Kahlil Gibran

You may not have saved a lot of money in your life, but if you have saved a lot of heartaches for other folks, you are a pretty rich man.

Seth Parker

I urge young people to consider public service, whether they do it now by volunteering in their community or prepare for public service as an adult.

John Walters

Service to others is the rent you pay for your room here on earth.

Muhammad Ali

The quality of your life will be determined by the quality of your contribution. When you work to improve the lives of others, your life improves automatically.

Kurek Ashley

Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not.

Dr. Seuss

Related Read: How to Choose a Charity to Support in 4 Simple Steps

I am only one but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something.

Edward Everett

Help one another. There’s no time like the present, and no present like the time.

James Durst

The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.

Gandhi

Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.

Margaret Mead

Volunteers don’t get paid, not because they’re worthless, but because they’re priceless.

Sherry Anderson

Well, those are all our inspirational quotes about volunteering for now, and we hope they motivate you to join a local organization near you and help out! Got any questions, feedback, or other great volunteering quotes to add to our list? Let us know below in the comments, and thank you for reading!

Related Read: Here’s How to Support Black Lives Matter (5 Simple but Effective Actions)

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Christian Eilers
Written By Christian Eilers
is a writer and expert on the topics of education, entrepreneurship, career advice, travel, and culture. On the Goodwall Blog, he covers topics including self-improvement, social impact, college preparation, career development, climate action, and more. Christian is originally from New York City and now resides in Kyiv, Ukraine after living in Warsaw, Poland for the past 4 years. At his desk, you're sure to find Pickwick, his Devon Rex cat, either attacking his fingers as he types or the monitor as the mouse pointer moves around.

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