You can improve your health, and help others, just by volunteering your time.

Whether it's building a home for someone in need or planting trees to beautify an area, volunteering your time can be a very rewarding experience.

"One of the banks in town helped to build a porch. When they got through building the porch, the lady just stood there and cried. She said, ‘I didn't have the money to do this, and you just never know what it means to me that someone took the time, the energy and the money to build this for us’," says Jan Hamilton, Spirit of Service co-chairman.

Hamilton believes in volunteering so much, she and Dan Hale co-chaired this year's Spirit of Service Project in Houston County.

"Volunteering is something anybody can do," says Hamilton.

"You give the dollar and you walk away. When you give back pain and sweat, you walk away saying I made a difference in somebody's life," says Dan Hale, Spirit of Service co-chairman.

Volunteering can also make a difference in your life.

According to the government website GetInvolved.org volunteering can improve self-esteem, reduce heart rates and blood pressure, enhance immune systems and buffer the impacts of stress.

"It's a good feeling, down deep inside," says Hamilton.

Medical studies also show volunteering results in a heightened sense of well being, it can improve insomnia and speed up surgery recovery time.

That alone proves it's something that not only can be a boost for the one receiving the service, but for you, giving your time.

Earlier on Friday, the Dothan Area Chamber of Commerce recognized those who gave their time to help others during Spirit of Service Week.