Volunteering not only makes you feel good about yourself, it also is actually good for you, according to a new study.

University of Michigan researchers report that people who volunteer may live longer than those who don’t, as long as their reasons for volunteering are to help others rather than themselves.

In the study, researchers followed more than 10,000 Wisconsin high school students from their graduation in 1957 until the present.

In 2004, the volunteers were asked to report whether they had volunteered within the past 10 years and how regularly. They also reported their reasons for volunteering.

Some of the reported answers were more oriented towards others (“I feel it is important to help others”) while other answers were more self-oriented (“Volunteering helps me escape my problems”).

Accounting for physical health, socioeconomic status, marital status and other mortality-related factors, the researchers still found a significant link between volunteering and longevity, but only if social connections or altruistic values were the predominant motives for volunteering.

“It is reasonable for people to volunteer in part because of benefits to the self; however, our research implies that, ironically, should these benefits to the self become the main motive for volunteering, they may not see those benefits,” said study author Andrea Fuhrel-Forbis, MA.

The benefits associated with volunteering even seemed to outweigh potential stressors, such as time constraints or working without pay, according to co-author Sarah Konrath, PhD.

The study was published in Health Psychology, a journal of the American Psychological Association.

It’s usually about this time when parents start to hear those dreaded words that inevitably come each summer. “I’m bored!” rings through houses across America and parents’ wells of ideas begin to run dry. The excitement of summer has started to wear off, play date pals are away on vacation, and our little swimmers are a bit water-logged. Though a loose daily schedule seems to provide endless opportunities for fun, parents everywhere are looking for quick and easy ways to break the monotony of summer. Here are a few “out of the box” ideas for keeping your children intrigued this summer.

*Call your local pet shelter and ask about volunteer opportunities. This may include a weekly trip to the shelter, handing out fliers for a pet rescue organization, or feeding the animals. Shelters likely have clear rules on who can volunteer and in what capacity, so check with them first before springing the idea on your children. If they don’t allow children to volunteer, bring your child to drop off bags of food or new toys for the animals. Seeing how much work it takes to care for a pet could also cure the constant requests for a puppy!

*Have a donation stand instead of a lemonade stand. Set up three jars for three different charities and generous neighbors can drop their donation in the jar of their choice. After your collection, have your children write a letter to accompany the donation when you send it off to the charity. They can also hang a “thank you” sign outside the house after the collections are completed.

*Have a family cook-off! Have each of your children choose a recipe to make. Invite family members or neighbors over for a taste and have them cast votes. Instead of first, second, and third place, which can surely hurt feelings, have categories such as most unique recipe, best presentation, and sweetest treat. Be sure to have a prize for each participant. Your local dollar store is a great place to pick up ribbons or small toys.

Remember, the key to keeping your children happily occupied is to provide a variety of activities. The activities don’t have to be grand trips or expensive outings. There are plenty of simple, cost-effective ways to spice up your routine summer days. Check back on Thursday for more ideas!

A new report shows that millions of Americans are relying on the help of food banks to feed themselves and their families, including a growing sector of the middle class seeking aid for the first time, the Orlando Sentinel reported.

A “staggering” 16.6 percent of the population – nearly 50 million Americans – can’t afford enough food to meet basic needs at least some of the time, according to a report by Feeding America, a nationwide network of food banks and the largest hunger-relief charity in the U.S.

The report calculated that this “meal gap” would require $21.3 billion a year to close.

This is the first county-by-county study of hunger in America and the first time a dollar value has been calculated in regards to the need, researchers said.

People who cannot afford enough food on a day-to-day basis are described as “food insecure” in the report.  The county with the highest rate of food insecurity is Wilcox County in Alabama. The counties with the highest numbers of food insecure people are Los Angeles and New York.

Click here to read more from the Orlando Sentinel.