Volunteer
The term
volunteer is contested — there is no one agreed-to definition, and the term is frequently debated. Some say a volunteer is someone who performs or offers to perform service out of his or her own free will, without payment, usually in support of a
non-profit organization, mission-based initiative or community. Others say the term volunteer can apply to someone who receives a stipend for his or her service, as long as the volunteer is engaged in full-time service and has no other paid job. The term is usually used for such service to
non-profit organizations, civil society organizations or even initiatives that originate in the public sector (schools, city offices, etc.), but not for those who work for free for a for-profit business.
Some people volunteer formally, through a
non-profit organization/
charity. Other people volunteer informally, helping a sick neighbor, for instance. Some volunteer for
clinical trials or other
medical research, and may even donate their bodies to science after their death.
The year
2001 was the
International Year of the Volunteer, as designated by the
United Nations. Every 5 December is
International Volunteer Day, also designated by the
United Nations. 2005 was the
United Kingdom Year of the Volunteer.
An international volunteer is a person who volunteers outside of his or her own country. Some international volunteers, usually those who will spend a year or more in the field, receive a small stipend, and agree not to engage in any other jobs during their full-time volunteer assignment. Short-term international volunteers usually receive no stipend, sometimes must even pay all of their own transportation and housing expenses, and also agree not to engage in any other jobs during their full-time volunteer assignment.
An
online volunteer is a person who contributes time and effort with an organization through an online connection, rather than or in addition to onsite service. The practice of donating time online goes by other names, such as virtual volunteering, cyber service, telementoring, e-volunteering, and cyber volunteering. The practice was first researched and detailed by the
Virtual Volunteering Project [
1].
Online volunteers do a variety of tasks, such as translating documents, proofreading books, editing or preparing proposals, designing logos, researching information, developing strategic plans, reviewing budgets, creating web pages, designing flash presentations, moderating online discussion groups and managing other online volunteers. Online volunteers usually support organizations in their own community, and often in addition to onsite service. There are also online volunteers who support organizations entirely remotely.
An ICT volunteer is someone who uses Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) as a central part of his or her service, or, who advocates for ICT access for under-serviced communities.
"Mandatory Volunteering" is term in informal usage to include various forms of community service in which the primary motivator is external to the individual - when people are mandated to serve by one authority or another - examples include (1) a high school student being required to provide so many hours of community service to a nonprofit organization in order to graduate, (2) a high school or college student engaged in
service learning, using a volunteering experience to apply skills learned in the classroom and to meet a requirement to pass the class, or (3) a person convicted of a misdemeanor being required to provide such community service as part of his or her sentence. Some organizations require members to provide a certain number of community services as well.
In recent years, mandated community service has been on the rise, driven by increasingly cash strapped (and perhaps more humanitarian) correctional systems, and by moves to encourage the notion of 'active citizenship' in youth. Many in the voluntary sector argue that they are expected, often with no additional funding, to pick up these functions from justice and educational systems.
Controversy exists around the terminology used - 'Mandatory volunteering' is seen as oxymoronic, since definitions of volunteering overwhelmingly include the element of free choice to act. Many opponents of the term also see a threat to the spirit of volunteering if it becomes contaminated with notions of force and punishment. Ironically, there is some indication that the term originated in the voluntary sector itself - the sector now most keen to clarify the difference between volunteering and mandated activity. A term that allows clearer definition is "Mandatory Community Service".
Controversy also exists around some aspects of mandated community service. The effects of forcing some people to serve - on both their future commitment to community and the commitments of others - are largely unknown. Many managers of volunteers note that managing those on mandatory programs is different to managing volunteers, not least because motivation is a key underlying theme in volunteer management, but also because some MCS programming requires elements that may not exist at all in a volunteer program - policing and reporting being notable examples.
(Although it is by no means a universal sentiment, this quote reflects the strength of one persons reaction: Suellen Carlson, the Director of Volunteers, at Lutheran Social Services in New York. "I no longer do someone else's job for them. The judge will have to find another way to punish someone other than punishing me in the process. I don't want to chase anyone, get nasty phone calls from someone who has to get in so many hours by a certain time (usually within the next couple of days). I am not interested in surly teenagers who are only putting in their time (and, whose mother has usually made the first call).")
However, many volunteer managers have minimal opposition to involving mandated individuals alongside their regular volunteers. With appropriate levels of involvement of voluntary organizations in design, planning and decision making of mandatory programs, both individuals and the organizations they serve can benefit.
For extensive statistics, regularly updated, on volunteering in the USA, see the
Independent Sector and the
Points of Light Foundation, and in Canada,
Volunteer CanadaSome organizations provide the links between organizations that need volunteers, and the individuals who wish to volunteer, and may have little or no role in arranging the volunteer program.
For example, in the field of
international development and
development charities,
Global Hand[
2] provides a register of volunteers as well as donors of goods and services;
RedR-IHE maintains a register of experienced professionals, including engineers, who are willing to volunteer;
Engineers Without Borders (in some countries at least) also links its members with other
NGO's rather than running separate projects. Some of these link volunteers and organizations globally; some are more local in scope, such as
One Brick in North America,
SEEK Volunteer in Australia or
Volunteer Now in New Zealand; and then there are those like
iVolunteer in India or
Thai-Experience in Thailand which focus on volunteer placement in one country while recruiting volunteers globally.
Charity Guide[
3] lists volunteering opportunities by topic such as poverty and environment, with links to relevant organizations. Suggestions ranging from 15 minute individual "acts of kindness" through to volunteer vacations in the volunteer's area of interest.
*
Amateur*
Big Brothers Big Sisters of America*
CCIVS*
Community_organization*
Hospital volunteer (
candystriper)
*
Hiwi*
Volunteer fire department*
Volunteer Rescue Association*
Voluntary Service Overseas*
Non-governmental organization*
New Zealand Office for the Community & Voluntary Sector*
One Brick*
Private voluntary organization*
Directory of volunteering-related links*
VolunteerMatch.org - National database of volunteer opportunities in the US*
iVolunteer.org.in - Connecting volunteers and organisations in India
