Different kinds of associations and private enterprises produce free-time related services and activities. Doing something in your free time does not necessarily mean activity which is led by someone else. For example baking, drawing, gaming, or geocaching are good ways of spending time and of filling free time with wholesome content. There are a lot of groups in social media gathered by different kinds of activity and interests, such gaming. There are also groups for finding a friend in different parts of Finland. It is always possible to get to know people with similar interests by joining these kind of groups.
Based on several pieces of research, having something nice to do or taking part in an activity is often meaningful in supporting one’s well-being. For young people, the ability to participate in some available free time activity depends a lot on where the young people are living. In some places the municipal youth work offers spaces and possibilities for meeting peers. Information about such meeting spots and possibilities can be found out by local youth workers and their channels in social media, or on webpages for the youth work services of that specific municipality.
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Many of us dream of having a pet and that certainly could bring a lot of joy into one’s life. A pet offers friendship that can last many years, and thus entails a sense of commitment as well as money.
For some reason or another, having one’s own pet is not always possible. On the other hand, there are also other ways to be in contact with animals and for example, by helping them. SEY – Animal Welfare Finland offers information on how to work as volunteer in an animal shelter or how to take part in offering an animal a foster home.
Having pleasant duties as a volunteer can bring positive content into free time hours and into one’s life in general. Often there is also a possibility to get to know people with the same interest and spirit. On the website Volunteering.fi , many volunteering posts can be found by place and / or by type. The webpages of Erasmus+ on the National Board of Education offers information about volunteering abroad. There is also funding available for taking part in courses, studying or training abroad, as there is also for different kinds of projects related to young people and youth work.
Loneliness can be a burden regardless of whether one is young, adult or a senior citizen, and regardless of gender or cultural background. Family can be far away, or one’s life situation has changed. There can be many obstacles hindering making friends. The Red Cross’s friend-volunteers often bring joy into the life of people feeling lonely. To become part of those encounters, you can inform the Red Cross that you want to have a friend. Or if there is a will to work as a volunteer friend for someone, there is a channel to join friend volunteers.