Imag|ne a wor|d w|thout vo|unteer|ng

Pave you ever sLopped Lo wander whaL volunLeerlng means Lo Lhe world and whaL ls volunLeerlng
abouL?
Pow would a world wlLhouL volunLeerlng be llke?
llrsL of all lL would be a world wlLh 140 mllllon people less Lhe global economy would lose around 400
bllllon dollars and mllllons Lhlrd secLor employees would lose Lhelr [obs
lL would probably also be a world where people smlle less where local communlLles are falllng aparL
and where everyone does Lhlngs only for money uesplLe belng a huge soc|a| econom|c and human
phenomenon LhaL ls Laklng place all over Lhe world volunLeerlng ls easlly overseen by people and
declslonmakers
A LurobaromeLer survey conducLed ln 2006 (publlshed lebruary 2007 'Luropean Soclal 8eallLy')
revealed LhaL Lhree ouL of Len Luropeans clalm Lo be acLlve ln a volunLary capaclLy bear ln mlnd LhaL
Lhe Lu has now almosL 300 mllllon clLlzens 1he !ohns Popklns unlverslLy research conducLed ln 37
counLrles all around Lhe world (comparaLlve nonproflL secLor pro[ecL) counLs a number of fullLlme
equlvalenL volunLeers for approxlmaLely 140 m||||on peop|e
lf volunLeers were a naLlon Lhey would be aL leasL Lhe nlnLh mosL populous counLry ln Lhe world! 1he
world's exacL number of volunLeers resLs unknown because naLlonal governmenLs rarely lnclude Lhls
lnformaLlon ln sLaLlsLlcs ConsequenLly Lhere ls lnsufflclenL knowledge on Lhe conLrlbuLlon LhaL
volunLeers make Lo socleLles economles and Lo human developmenL lsn'L lL sLrange LhaL we have more
accuraLe lnformaLlon and sLudles on Lhe effecLs LhaL blrd mlgraLlons have on a socleLy Lhan
volunLeerlng?
Who are Lhose volunLeers whaL do Lhey really do you mlghL ask volunLeers ofLen come from all walks
of llfe Lhey are ofLen famlly members your Leachers and schoolmaLes work colleagues frlends and
rlvals Crdlnary common people who ouL of personal and volunLary commlLmenL noL belng pald and
drlven by flnanclal galn do someLhlng for Lhe beneflL of oLher lndlvlduals and Lhe socleLy as a whole
1hey usually volunLeer Lhrough and wlLhln nCCs (nongovernmenLal) assoclaLlons clubs youLh
organlsaLlons and so on volunLeerlng very ofLen happens also lnformally and sponLaneously when
you help your nelghbours or ln Lhe case of ecologlcal dlsasLer
Vo|unteers are parents he|p|ng |n schoo|s c|ownvo|unteers |n hosp|ta|s and hosp|ces peop|e act|ve |n
sports fun c|ubs or |n sen|or c|ubs campa|gners for po||t|ca| part|es or human r|ghts vo|untary
|awyers ass|stants to refugees human|tar|an experts defenders of an|ma| r|ghts eco|og|ca| act|v|sts
cybervo|unteers (I1 spec|a||st and trans|ators) and others who act|ve|y engage |n the ||fe of the|r
commun|t|es Powever volunLeerlng should noL replace servlces Lo be dellvered by governmenLs lL
musL be also dlsLlngulshed from 'unpald' work llke lnLernshlps Lralnlngs and oLher acLlvlLles whlch are
underLaken only for Lhe sake of personal beneflLs neverLheless lLs capaclLy Lo change and lnfluence
lndlvldual llves need Lo be acknowledged Loo Whlle volunLeerlng people galn many skllls such as
organlsaLlon leadershlp and empaLhy
1here are slgnlflcanL dlfferences beLween counLrles and Lhelr volunLeer LradlLlons ln oland CroaLla or
oLher posLcommunlsL counLrles more young people volunLeer ln lLaly or Spaln large numbers of
volunLeers are reLlred people of over slxLy years old ln general ln wesLern Lurope an average volunLeer
ls a wellslLuaLed educaLed mlddleaged person ln souLheasLern cenLral and easLern Lurope Lhere
are sLlll many negaLlve connoLaLlons and mlsconcepLlons abouL volunLeerlng because of pasL communlsL
obllgaLory 'communlLy work' or 'volunLary' war soldlers Many people belleve volunLeerlng Lo be
'worklng for no money Lherefore worklng for noLhlng'
volunLeers deserve supporL from governmenLs local auLhorlLles Lu lnsLlLuLlons and socleLy as a whole
1hls enables Lhem Lo engage more easlly ln acLlvlLles Lo proLecL Lhem from abuse and Lo carry on Lhelr
mlsslons volunLeer organlsaLlons work hard Lo convlnce declslonmakers Lo Lake lnLo accounL Lhe needs
of volunLeers and volunLary secLor
1hls would undoubLedly boosL recognlLlon of volunLeers' conLrlbuLlons celebraLe Lhelr achlevemenLs
and encourage more people Lo acLlvely engage ln Lhelr socleLles
volunLeerlng has a meanlngful poslLlve lmpacL on your communlLy 8uL dld you know LhaL lL can have
many beneflLs for you Loo? Pere are some reasons Lo volunLeer

8esldes your communlLy volunLeerlng can help you ln dlfferenL ways such as
earn or deve|op a new sk|||
volunLeerlng ls Lhe perfecL vehlcle Lo dlscover someLhlng you are really good aL and develop a new sklll
As MahaLma Candhl sald Llve as lf you were Lo dle Lomorrow Learn as lf you were Lo llve forever" lL ls
never Loo laLe Lo learn new skllls and no reason why you should sLop addlng Lo your knowledge [usL
because you are ln employmenL or have flnlshed educaLlon lannlng and lmplemenLlng a ma[or
fundralslng evenL can develop goal seLLlng plannlng and budgeLlng skllls Supervlslng and Lralnlng oLher
volunLeers helps Lo develop supervlsory and Lralnlng skllls 1hese are examples of skllls LhaL can enhance
a career buL you don'L have Lo develop skllls wlLh Lhe lnLenLlon of faclllLaLlng your career alnLlng a
mural or maklng banners for lnLernaLlonal volunLeer uay Lo celebraLe Lhe wonderful and prlceless
work LhaL volunLeers do could genLly push you Lo dlscover graphlcs and arL LalenLs Lxplore your love
for muslc and learn Lo u! so you can offer your newfound panache Lo local youLh club dlscos 1he
posslblllLles are many


e part of your commun|ty
no one ls an lsland We someLlmes Lake for granLed Lhe communlLy LhaL we llve ln eople and socleLles
codepend on each oLher for survlval buL growLh of such Lhlngs as commerclallsm are seelng LradlLlonal
values belng dlsregarded CommunlLles are sufferlng due Lo Lhe growLh of secular socleLles buL aL Lhe
same Llme we can really brldge LhaL expandlng gap Lhrough volunLeerlng volunLeerlng ls ulLlmaLely
abouL helplng oLhers and havlng an lmpacL on people's wellbelng As a volunLeer you cerLalnly reLurn
Lo socleLy some of Lhe beneflLs LhaL socleLy glves you

Mot|vat|on and sense of ach|evement

lundamenLally volunLeerlng ls abouL glvlng your Llme energy and skllls freely unllke many Lhlngs ln
llfe Lhere ls cholce lnvolved ln volunLeerlng As a volunLeer you have made a declslon Lo help on your
own accord free from pressure Lo acL from oLhers volunLeers predomlnanLly express a sense of
achlevemenL and moLlvaLlon and Lhls ls ulLlmaLely generaLed from your deslre and enLhuslasm Lo help
SomeLlmes volunLeers are regarded as dogooders and Lhose LhaL hold LhaL vlew also assume LhaL one
person can never make a dlfference lL may be Lrue LhaL no one person can solve all Lhe world's
problems buL whaL you can do ls make LhaL llLLle corner of Lhe world where you llve [usL LhaL llLLle blL
beLLer

oost your career opt|ons

Also lf you are Lhlnklng of a career change Lhen volunLeerlng ls a perfecL way Lo explore new flelds lf
you have a passlon for Lhe arLs buL have career ln compuLlng Lhen why noL volunLeer aL your local
LheaLre? Cr lf your amblLlons are Lo be a docLor why noL flnd ouL abouL volunLeer opporLunlLles aL your
local hosplLal Lhe ldeal way Lo expand your work porLfollo ln your fleld and Lo galn a real lnslghL lnLo
your chosen paLh

New |nterests and hobb|es
SomeLlmes we do geL locked lnLo Lhe raLrace" of llfe and volunLeerlng can glve LhaL escape Lo everday
rouLlne and creaLe a balance ln our llves llndlng new lnLeresLs and hobbles Lhrough volunLeerlng can be
fun relaxlng and energlzlng Pelp run a youLh radlo sLaLlon or webslLe for a few hours a week or asslsL ln
publlshlng a charlLy newsleLLer 1he energy and sense of fulfllmenL can carry over Lo a work slLuaLlon
and someLlmes helps Lo relleve Lenslons and fosLer new perspecLlves for old slLuaLlons SomeLlmes a
volunLeer experlence can lead you Lo someLhlng you never even LhoughL abouL or help you dlscover a
hobby or lnLeresL you were unaware of ?ou can sLrengLhen your personal/professlonal mlsslon and
vlslon by explorlng opporLunlLles and expandlng your horlzons

New exper|ences
volunLeerlng ls a brllllanL way Lo geL llfe experlence WheLher you bulld a llbrary or mall flyers Lo ralse
awareness for a local charlLy you wlll experlence Lhe real world Lhrough handson work lor example lL
ls posslble Lo volunLeer ln developlng counLrles and see Lhe dlrecL lmpacL of your acLlons on some of Lhe
mosL vulnerable people of Lhe world
Meet|ng a d|verse range of peop|e
volunLeerlng brlngs LogeLher a dlverse range of people from all backgrounds and walks of llfe 8oLh Lhe
reclplenLs of your volunLeer efforLs and your coworkers can be a rlch source of lnsplraLlon and an
excellenL way Lo develop your lnLerpersonal skllls volunLeerlng also offers an lncredlble neLworklng
opporLunlLy noL only wlll you develop lasLlng personal and professlonal relaLlonshlps buL lL ls also a
greaL way Lo learn abouL people from all walks of llfe dlfferenL envlronmenLs and new lndusLrles
neLworklng ls an exclLlng beneflL of volunLeerlng and you can never Lell who you wlll meeL or whaL new
lnformaLlon you wlll learn and whaL lmpacL Lhls could have on your llfe

Send a s|gna| to your emp|oyer teachers fr|ends and fam||y

eople pay aLLenLlon Lo your llfe ouLslde Lhe envlronmenL ln whlch Lhey have dlrecL conLacL wlLh you
lor example your employer would be lnLeresLed ln Lhe acLlvlLles LhaL glves you a good workllfe
balance [usL as academlc lnsLlLuLlons are lnLeresLed ln your exLracurrlcular acLlvlLles volunLeerlng
reflecLs and supporLs a compleLe plcLure of you and glves real examples of your commlLmenL
dedlcaLlon and lnLeresLs Show people whaL you are passlonaLe abouL and maybe you wlll lnsplre Lhem
Loo!