Guest blogger Alice Fong is the Volunteer Initiatives Manager on the Volunteer Center team at United Way of King County. In her free time she enjoys promoting the volunteer culture and connecting people to volunteer opportunities. She believes volunteering is an act where people can focus on their similarities and bring the community together!

Did you know that of 52% of people who make resolutions are confident that they’ll keep them. Sadly, only 12% actually make good on them. I want to help you actually keep your resolution this year so you can join the 12%!

My 2015 resolution is to volunteer. I signed up to volunteer for the tax campaign and promote various volunteer opportunities to my friends in areas of education, health, and homelessness to name a few! Here’s how I’m going to beat the bleak percentage and actually keep my resolution. A Forbes article lists 6 steps that I’ve adapted and given a volunteer spin:

1. Know what activity you want to do. Do you like cooking, being on a board or developing programs for your favorite cause? Ask your volunteering friends to see how they decided.
2. Write down what you need to do. Sometimes the act of writing your plan helps make it into a reality.
3. Put it on your calendar. Block the time necessary for your act of kindness–check!
4. Be positive! Everyone can contribute something and YOU have a gift that will benefit the right organization. Did I mention, my role with the Tax Campaign is not to do taxes?
5. Get your friends to join you. If you are super busy, this is a great way to stay connected with your friends while having shared experiences AND doing a nice thing for others.
6. Stay in it, even when life gets busy and stressful. A 2013 health and volunteering study found that it is good for you (and it’s a stress reliever)!

I’m going to try to exercise and eat healthier, but volunteering also yields some pretty cool health benefits too! The opportunities are endless and the time commitment can vary from weekly to annual projects. Find something you’ll enjoy and join me as we succeed and increase that 12%!