One of the best feelings in the world is giving. The positive energy is contagious. With just one act of kindness, you can inspire others to go out and plant seeds of happiness through giving back to the community, too. Your greatest gift is the ability to share your blessings; it’s what makes life meaningful. Remember what it means to be a giver with these 45 thoughtful quotes about volunteering.
Inspirational volunteer quotes to remind you of the joys of giving back
- “No one has ever become poor by giving.” ―Anne Frank
- “Remember that the happiest people are not those getting more, but those giving more.” ―H. Jackson Brown Jr.
- “Since you get more joy out of giving joy to others, you should put a good deal of thought into the happiness that you are able to give.” ―Eleanor Roosevelt
- “We must give more in order to get more. It is the generous giving of ourselves that produces the generous harvest.” ―Orison Swett Marden
- “The smallest act of kindness is worth more than the grandest intention.” ―Oscar Wilde
- “Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, ‘What are you doing for others?’” ―Martin Luther King, Jr.
- “Be of service. Whether you make yourself available to a friend or co-worker, or you make time every month to do volunteer work, there is nothing that harvests more of a feeling of empowerment than being of service to someone in need.” ―Gillian Anderson
- “Happiness doesn’t result from what we get, but from what we give.” ―Ben Carson
- “At the end of the day, it’s not about what you have or even what you’ve accomplished… it’s about who you’ve lifted up, who you’ve made better. It’s about what you’ve given back.” —Denzel Washington, A Hand to Guide Me
- “Service to others is the rent you pay for your room here on earth.” ―Muhammad Ali
- “Think of giving not as a duty but as a privilege.” ―John D. Rockefeller Jr.
- “I have found that among its other benefits, giving liberates the soul of the giver.” ―Maya Angelou
- “The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.” —Mahatma Gandhi
- “The best thing to do with the best things in life is to give them away.” —Dorothy Day
- “Those who are happiest are those who do the most for others.” —Booker T. Washington
Meaningful quotes about the impact of volunteering
- “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
- “Even if you just change one life, you’ve changed the world forever.” —Mike Satterfield
- “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
- “Good actions give strength to ourselves and inspire good actions in others.” —Plato
- “The best way to pursue happiness is to help other people. Because there’s nothing else that will make you happier.” —George Lucas
- “In giving, you are throwing a bridge across the chasm of your solitude.” ―Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
- “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
- “What we have done for ourselves alone dies with us; what we have done for others and the world remains and is immortal.” —Albert Pike
- “Volunteers wear working boots but leave a trail of angel footprints.” —Terri Guillemets
- “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.” —William J. Clinton
- “An effort made for the happiness of others lifts us above ourselves.” —Lydia Maria Child
- “A true healer is not the one with magical powers, but the one who does everything in their power to help those in need.” —Abhijit Naskar
- “The unselfish effort to bring cheer to others will be the beginning of a happier life for ourselves.” —Helen Keller
- “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
- “You have not lived until you have done something for someone who can never repay you.” —John Bunyan
Volunteer quotes that encourage you to serve others
- “Giving back—that’s the purest joy you can possibly have.” —Daniel Jacobs
- “What is the essence of life? To serve others and to do good.” —Aristotle
- “No one is more cherished in this world than someone who lightens the burden of another.” —Joseph Addison
- “Getting what you want is not nearly as important as giving what you have.” —Tom Krause
- “There is no better exercise for your heart than reaching down and helping to lift someone up.” —Bernard Meltzer
- “A candle loses nothing of its light when lighting another.” —Kahlil Gibran
- “The heart of a volunteer is never measured in size, but by the depth of the commitment to make a difference in the lives of others.” —DeAnn Hollis
- “Selfless giving is the art of living.” —Frederic Lenz
- “Remember that the happiest people are not those getting more, but those giving more.” —H. Jackson Brown Jr.
- “As you grow older, you will discover that you have two hands—one for helping yourself, the other for helping others.” —Audrey Hepburn
- “We make a living by what we get. We make a life by what we give.” —Winston Churchill
- “He who wishes to secure the good of others has already secured his own.” —Confucius
- “The greatest poverty that can afflict the human spirit is the loss of a generous heart. You will know that success has slipped away when your passion for helping others grows cold.” —Bill Lane Doulos
- “Only a life lived for others is worth living.” —Albert Einstein
- A pessimist, they say, sees a glass as being half empty; an optimist sees the same glass as half full. But a giving person sees a glass of water and starts looking for someone who might be thirsty.” —G. Donald Gale
This article was updated May 2024. Photo By DC Studio/Shutterstock.com
