Volunteering Sayings and Quotes

Below you will find our collection of inspirational, wise, and humorous old volunteering quotes, volunteering sayings, and volunteering proverbs, collected over the years from a variety of sources.

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
How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world. Anne Frank
Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can. Arthur Ashe
As you grow older, you will discover that you have two hands — one for helping yourself, and the other for helping others. Audrey Hepburn
If you think you are too small to be effective, you have never been in bed with a mosquito. Betty Reese
It is not enough to be compassionate. You must act. Dalai Lama XIV
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
Even if it’s a little thing, do something for those who have need of a man’s help something for which you get no pay but the privilege of doing it. For, remember, you don’t live in a world all your own. Your brothers are here, too. Dr. Albert Schweitzer
Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not. Dr. Seuss
I am only one, but I am one. I cannot do everything, but I can do something. And I will not let what I cannot do interfere with what I can do. Edward Everett Hale
Volunteers do not necessarily have the time; they just have the heart. Elizabeth Andrew
Volunteers are the only human beings on the face of the earth who reflect this nation’s compassion, unselfish caring, patience, and just plain loving one another. Erma Bombeck
While earning your daily bread, be sure you share a slice with those less fortunate. H. Jackson Brown
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
The unselfish effort to bring cheer to others will be the beginning of a happier life for ourselves. Helen Keller
Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much. Helen Keller
Not only must we be good, but we must also be good for something. Henry David Thoreau
We cannot live only for ourselves. A thousand fibers connect us with our fellow men. Herman Melville
The broadest, and maybe the most meaningful definition of volunteering: Doing more than you have to because you want to, in a cause you consider good. Ivan Scheier
Those who bring sunshine to the lives of others cannot keep it from themselves. James Matthew Barrie
Only by giving are you able to receive more than you already have. Jim Rohn
The only people with whom, you should try to get even are those who have helped you. John E. Southard
Every person can make a difference, and every person should try. John F. Kennedy
You give but little when you give of your possessions. It is when you give of yourself that you truly give. Kahlil Gibran
Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around. Leo Buscaglia
The purpose of life is not to be happy, but to matter, to be productive, to be useful, to have it make some difference that you have lived at all. Leo Rosten
The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others. Mahatma Gandhi
One can pay back the loan of gold, but one dies forever in debt to those who are kind. Malayan Proverb
Doing nothing for others is the undoing of ourselves. Horace Mann
To ease another's heartache is to forget one's own. Abraham Lincoln