The challenges and rewards of voluntary work

Voluntary work, the things we put our hearts into without asking for reward, is a priceless asset to any country. Most voluntary work is fitted into people’s spare time.

Voluntary activities range from rattling collection boxes in the streets to sitting as a Justice of the Peace, from improving wildlife habitat to manning telephone help lines for children or parents.

What makes people volunteer?

-emotional fact

-the desire to put something into the place where they are living (for e.g. to create a good environment for teenagers in the most deprived areas of the town)

-to be involved with some organization-youth league for e.g.- to help properly (to be a full-time volunteer) to run a number of youth clubs or to organize seminars on racial harassment, community relations and drugs

-the feeling of bringing people together, to 'combat the disconnection and alienation that lie at the core of nation’s most serious social problems, to shift focus to such problems

ACTIONS

- to advise adults on issues such as housing and employment

-help young people prepare CVs and application forms, advise them on interview techniques

-visits to housebound people in order to give the main carer a break (the so called extra care home for elderly people)

-great impact on social problems, such as youth violence

REWARDS

-emotional deal of satisfaction: it’s nice to know you’re bringing a little bit of happiness into someone’s life and putting something back into the community

-you get a pleasure out of feeling that you’re making life more pleasant for people

-the feeling that you’re needed

-you work with like-minded people and find it amazingly interesting

-it’s great to be able to do smth and at the same time make money for a worthwhile cause (when organizing projects, fundraising-donations)

-in the USA the government is recognizing the potential of volunteers (President Clinton asserted “The solution must be the American people through voluntary service to others”, Bush” it’s about getting more people off the sidelines”)

-many companies encourage volunteering through release time schemes and most have special offices to promote and organize volunteering

NB! Also stressful: goodwill alone isn’t enough to ensure the smooth running of a group, this work is ill-defined-when you do paid work you’re appraised-the great danger is to think that you’re only a volunteer-you’ve got to perform as well as you can, relying on volunteers can have its problems

CHALLENGES

Volunteering is an innovative paradigm for 21st century corporate citizenship

A disquiet about a changing culture of voluntary work: the smaller voluntary organizations are close to the ground, know the real needs and often come up with innovative ideas on how to meet them.

Working for local authorities along lines could make the voluntary org-s lose what made them special in the first place

Emphasis on corporate volunteering

Volunteerism in the United States is neither a new concept nor an uncommon activity. Historically, America has long recognized the importance of “a societal responsibility to join in, to contribute of one’s time and efforts to assist or aid others. State governments also actively recruit volunteers to help in providing essential services to the citizenry.

For instance, volunteers provide various integral emergency services in the wake of natural disasters.

Volunteers also lend a helping hand to the state courts and correctional systems.

Dozens of other state government-sponsored volunteer programs exist. Volunteers provide valuable services to local schools and libraries, parks and recreational programs, senior citizen centers, police, ambulance and firefighting units.

Non-governmental organizations significantly utilize volunteers as well. Churches, civic groups, neighborhood associations, philanthropic organizations, and a host of other non-profit groups provide a wide-range of volunteer opportunities and services. The American Red Cross, the Natural Resources Defense Council, Catholic Charities USA, Save the Children, Habitat for Humanity, America’s Second Harvest, Make A Wish Foundation, and the United Way are some of the larger and better known charitable and volunteer-based private or non-profit groups.

According to the Fair Labor Standards Act, a volunteer is:

An individual who performs hours of service for a public agency [or organization] for civic, charitable, or humanitarian reasons, without promise, expectation or receipt of compensation for services rendered.

Similarly, state law in South Carolina defines a volunteer as “any person who freely provides goods or services to any agency or instrumentality of government without financial gain.”

Types of Voluntary Activities

Further, the Bureau of Labor Statistics identifies several activities in which volunteers

engage in consistently. The list below shows which activities are most predominate.

. Teaching or coaching (24.4 %).

. Canvassing, campaigning, or fundraising (22.9 %).

. Collecting, making, serving, or delivering goods (22.2 %).

. Serving on a board, committee, or neighborhood association (16.3 %).

. Providing care or transportation (12.3 %).

. Consulting or administrative work (14.0 %).

Volunteerism is the willingness of people to work on behalf of others without the expectation of pay or other tangible gain. Volunteers may have special training as rescuers, guides, assistants, teachers, missionaries, amateur radio operators, writers, and in other positions. But the majority work on an impromptu basis, recognizing a need and filling it, whether it be the dramatic search for a lost child or the mundane giving of directions to a lost visitor.[citation needed] In economics, voluntary employment is unpaid employment. It may be done for altruistic reasons, for example charity, as a hobby, community service or vocation, or for the purpose of gaining experience. Some go so far as to dedicate much of their lives to voluntary service. One way in which this is done is through the creation of a Non-Profit Franchise.

There are two major benefits of volunteerism:

1. economic: activities undertaken by volunteers would otherwise have to be funded by the state or by private capital, so volunteering adds to the overall economic output of a country and reduces the burden on government spending.

2. social: volunteering helps to build more cohesive communities, fostering greater trust between citizens, and developing norms of solidarity and reciprocity which are essential to stable communities.