Poll Says Volunteering Promotes Physical, Mental Health

April 21, 2010, Reuters — Volunteers, whose numbers have grown to 63 million in the United States, help to strengthen communities and to improve health -- their own.

About 84 percent of people questioned in a survey agreed that volunteering improves physical health, and 95 percent said it may also have emotional benefits, according to a poll of more than 4,500 Americans released by United Healthcare and VolunteerMatch, a national nonprofit group.