Did you know that making a charitable donation in Orange County can have positive effects on your physical and mental health?
Lots of non-profit organizations highlight the tax deductions available for charitable donations, and rightly so. But the personal benefits that donors can receive should not go overlooked.
At Mariposa Center, a non-profit devoted to serving Orange County’s women, men, and families on their healing journeys, we have witnessed the incredible impact of charitable giving on patients and donors alike.
4 Ways That Donating in Orange County Helps Donors’ Well-Being
Here are four ways that donating in Orange County can improve your mental and physical health.
1. Giving is a Mood Booster
Research has found that making a charitable gift stimulates the brain’s pleasure centers and triggers the release of endorphins and oxytocin, increasing feelings of well-being. Taking part in these mood-boosting activities can also increase one’s self-esteem and reduce anxiety and depression.
In our experience at Mariposa, many donors feel compelled to give back as part of their own recovery journey. Giving to an organization that helps individuals and families in need can also generate feelings of satisfaction and closure for donors who choose to “pay it forward.”
2. Donating Makes You Healthier
The physical benefits of donating in Orange County are almost as remarkable as the mental boost. The release of pleasure hormones in the brain helps the body enter a state of relaxation, which can reduce high blood pressure and stress-related ailments.
3. Charitable Giving Extends Donors’ Lives
Making a charitable donation clearly has a positive impact on donors in the short term, but you might be surprised to find out that there are long-term benefits too.
Specifically, research has found that individuals who give financial or material support to others tend to live longer than those who do not.
In short, your donation to an organization like Mariposa, which helps individuals rebuild their quality of life, will make your life longer too.
4. Donating Rejuvenates the Mind
The constant barrage of information from smartphones and television screens has a measurable and negative impact on most people’s state of mind.
An American Psychological Association survey found that consuming negative news has a significant link to increased sadness and anxiety. Further, the stress reactions to “increasingly visual and shocking” content even contributed to cardiovascular ailments and arthritis.
The physical and psychological reactions produced by making a donation can reduce these effects, as mentioned above. In other words, the choice to create some “good news” of your own is one of the most effective ways to push back against a world full of “bad news.”
Why Mariposa Encourages Donating in Orange County
As a non-profit, Mariposa Center’s perspective on this topic is unique. Donations have made our counseling and therapy services possible since our founding in 1997, so we have seen firsthand the transformative power of donations for patients and donors alike.
“First-time donors and volunteers who contribute to our work at Mariposa often tell us that they are surprised by how good giving and helping others makes them feel. In fact, sometimes we have to remind them that it’s okay to feel good about doing good.”
– Tina Rossi, LCSW; CalWORKs Behavioral Health Services Program Director at Mariposa
Today, Mariposa gratefully accepts donations that benefit our patients, our community, and our donors themselves.
