Volunteering

The concept of volunteering is linked to solidarity and selfless giving. Volunteering is expressed in many ways, each with its own physiognomy and method of action. A common feature of all, however, is their contribution to the defense of fundamental rights.

In modern times, volunteering has been established as the institution that contributes to tackling social, economic and environmental problems and is called upon to fill the gaps created by the weakness of the state and market mechanisms.

In this context, many non-governmental organizations, such as ours, have taken action with a variety of voluntary actions to address the aforementioned problems and provide social services to members of society who need our solidarity and support. These organizations include in their potential an ever-increasing number of volunteers.

For us, volunteering is not just a condition for collective prosperity, but a way of life, contributing constructively to the social sphere. With a focus on volunteering, everyone can actively contribute to the defense of human rights and to ensuring social cohesion, abandoning the social and economic discrimination that inappropriately characterizes our society.

Volunteering can be:

• expression of activism,
• constructive way of utilizing leisure time,
• providing a selfless offer that leads to personal fulfillment and the promotion of the collective good.

Many people divide volunteering into formal and informal. Formal volunteering involves offering, for example, a non-governmental organization or an institution. Informal volunteering involves offering ourselves as units of a whole through an honest act such as helping an elderly neighbor.

Volunteering has no age! It can address both young people by promoting the cultivation of morality and conscientiousness and setting as a long-term goal their smooth integration into society. Accordingly, it can offer joy and be a motivator of life and inner fulfillment for older people.

Source: Volunteering and Society in the 21st Century, C, Rochester, A, Ellis Paine, S, Howlett.