"Volunteer" "Volunteers" and "Volunteerism" redirect here. For other uses see Volunteer (disambiguation) Voluntarism (disambiguation) and Voluntary (disambiguation). This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (February 2010) The examples and perspective in this article deal primarily with the United States and do not represent a worldwide view of the subject. Please improve this article and discuss the issue on the talk page. (August 2010) Volunteers with Hands On Miami help out at Zoo Miami.

In general terms volunteering is the practice of people working on behalf of others or a particular cause without payment for their time and services. Volunteering is generally considered an altruistic activity intended to promote good or improve human quality of life but people also volunteer for their own skill development to meet others to make contacts for possible employment to have fun and a variety of other reasons that could be considered self-serving.

Volunteering takes many forms and is performed by a wide range of people. Many volunteers are specifically trained in the areas they work in such as medicine education or emergency rescue. Other volunteers serve on an as-needed basis such as in response to a natural disaster or for a beach-cleanup.

In a military context a volunteer army is an army whose soldiers chose to enter service as opposed to having been conscripted. Such volunteers do not work for free and are given regular pay. Contents 1 Social capital 2 Moral Resources Political Capital and Civil Society 3 Skills-based volunteering 4 Virtual volunteering 5 Micro-volunteering 6 Environmental volunteering 7 Volunteering in schools 8 Corporate volunteering and employee volunteering 9 Community volunteering 10 Politics 11 International workcamps 12 Difficulties in cross-national aid 13 Criticism 14 See also 15 References 16 External links Social capital

The social capital generated by volunteering plays a key role in economic regeneration.citation needed Where poverty is endemic to an area poor communities lack friends and neighbors able to help. Thus voluntary mutual aid or self-help is an important safety net. This model works well within a state because there is a national solidarity in times of adversity and more prosperous groups will usually make sacrifices for the benefit of those in need.citation needed Moral Resources Political Capital and Civil Society

Based on a case study in China Xu and Ngai (2011) revealed that the developing grassroots volunteerism can be an enclave among various organizations and may be able to work toward the development of civil society in the developing countries. The researchers developed a Moral Resources and Political Capital approach to examine the contributions of volunteerism in promoting the civil society. Moral resource means the available morals could be chosen by NGOs. Political capital means the capital that will improve or enhance the NGOs status possession or access in the existing political system. 1 Moreover Xu and Ngai (2011) distinguished two types of Moral Resources: Moral Resource-I and Moral Resource-II (ibid). Moral Resource I: Inspired by Immanuel Kants (1998 1787) argument of What ought I to do Moral Resource-I will encourage the NGOs confidence and then have the courage to act and conquer difficulties by way of answering and confirming the question of What ought I to do. 2 Moral Resource II: given that Adorno (2000) recognizes that moral or immoral tropes are socially determined Moral Resource-II refers to the morals that are well accepted by the given society. 3 Thanks to the intellectual heritage of Blau and Duncan (1967) two types of political capital were identified: Political Capital-I refers to the political capital mainly ascribed to the status that the NGO inherited throughout history (e.g. the CYL). Political Capital-II refers to the Political Capital that the NGOs earned through their hard efforts. 4 Obviously Moral resource-I itself contains the self-determination that gives participants confidence in the ethical beliefs they have chosen 5 almost any organizations may has Moral Resource-I while not all of them have the societal recognized Moral Resource-II. However the voluntary service organizations predominantly occupy Moral Resource-II because a sense of moral superiority makes it possible that for parties with different values goals and cultures to work together in promoting the promotion of volunteering. Thus the voluntary service organizations are likely to win the trust and support of the masses as well as the government more easily than will the organizations whose morals are not accepted by mainstream society. In other words Moral Resource II helps the grassroots organizations with little Political Capital I to win Political Capital-II which is a crucial factor for their survival and growth in developing countries such as China. Therefore the voluntary service realm could be an enclave of the development of civil society in the developing nations. 6 Skills-based volunteering

Skills-based volunteering refers to volunteering in which the volunteer is specifically trained in the area they are volunteering in.citation needed This is in contrast to traditional volunteering where specific training is not required. The average hour of traditional volunteering is valued by the Independent Sector at between $1820 an hour. Skills-based volunteering is valued at $40500 an hour depending on the market value of the time.7 Virtual volunteering

Virtual volunteering also sometimes called as eVolunteering online volunteering is a term describing a volunteer who completes tasks in whole or in part offsite from the organization being assisted using the Internet and a home school telecenter or work computer or other Internet-connected device such as a PDAs or smartphone. Virtual volunteering is also known as cyber service telementoring and teletutoring and various other names. Virtual volunteering is similar to telecommuting except that instead of online employees who are paid these are online volunteers who are not paid. Micro-volunteering

Micro-volunteering is a term that describes an un-paid task that can be done via an internet-connected device and in small increments of time. It is distinct from virtual volunteering in that it typically does not require an application process or training period.8910 Micro-volunteering via smart-phone was pioneered by a San Francisco-based social enterprise called The Extraordinaries in 2008.111213 Environmental volunteering

Environmental volunteering refers to volunteers who contribute towards environmental management. Volunteers conduct a range of activities including environmental monitoring ecological restoration such as re-vegetation and weed removal and educating others about the natural environment. Volunteering in schools Children cart dirt and debris away during a community clean-up day in Yaound Cameroon. School systems around the world rely heavily on volunteers and donations in order to run effectively.citation needed In some countries whenever the economy is down the need for volunteers and resources increases greatly.14 There are many opportunities available in the school system for volunteers to take advantage of especially if you have a special skill or trade. There are not many requirements in order to become a volunteer in the school system. Whether you are a parent grandparent or just a community member most schools just require a volunteer form be completed. Much like the benefits of any type of volunteering there are great rewards for the volunteer student and school. These benefits include but are not limited to:citation needed School Benefits Provided with additional service without having to have added costs Teachers are given extra time for educational purposes and planning A positive relationship between the community and the school. Volunteer Benefits Parents become involved in their childs school and education New talents that one never knew they had are discovered A sense of personal satisfaction Ability to meet new people and develop new friendships. Student Benefits Students are given a positive role model Educational success is encouraged and improved. Corporate volunteering and employee volunteering A majority of the companies at the Fortune 500 allow their employees to volunteer during work hours. These formalized Employee Volunteering Programs (EVPs) also called Employer Supported Volunteering are regarded as a part of the companies' sustainability efforts and their social responsibility activities.15 According to information from VolunteerMatch a service that provides Employee Volunteering Program solutions the key drivers for companies that produce and manage EVPs is that it builds brand awareness and affinity strengthens trust and loyalty among consumers enhances corporate image and reputation improves employee retention increases employee productivity and loyalty and provides an effective vehicle to reach strategic goals.16 Community volunteering Community volunteering refers to volunteers who work to improve community enhancement efforts in the area in which they live. Neighborhood church and community groups play a key role in building strong Cities from the neighborhoods up. Supporting these understaffed groups can enable them to succeed in a variety of areas which connect social environmental and economic boundaries. Volunteers can conduct a wide range of activities. Some choose to support a variety of groups as a "volunteer broker." Politics Further information: Gift economy In almost all modern societies the most basic of all values is people helping people and in the process helping themselves.citation needed However a tension can arise between volunteering and the state-provided services so most countries develop policies and enact legislation to clarify the roles and relationships among stakeholders and identify and allocate the necessary legal social administrative and financial support. This is particularly necessary when some voluntary activities are seen as a challenge to the authority of the state e.g. on 29 January 2001 President Bush cautioned that volunteer groups should supplement not replace the work of government agencies.17 Volunteering that benefits the state but challenges paid counterparts raises the ire of labor unions representing the paid counterparts as in the case of volunteer fire departments particularly in combination departments. International workcamps An international workcamp is an international voluntary project in which participants from different countries can meet live work learn and exchange with local people concerning issues about environmental conservation cultural heritage social justice rural and human development etc. International workcamps can be divided into short term voluntary projects (STV) and long/middle term voluntary projects (LMTV). STV projects are international workcamps for less than 2 months while LMTV projects are those lasting 2 months or more. The most common international workcamp lasts for two weeks with a group of 10-20 overseas and local workcamp participants. Difficulties in cross-national aid Volunteers fit new windows at The Sumac Centre in Nottingham UK. Difficulties in this model of volunteering can arise when this is applied across national borders. A state sending volunteers to another state can be viewed as a breach of sovereignty and a lack of respect towards the national government of the proposed recipients. Thus when states negotiate the offer and acceptance of aid motivations become important particularly if donors may postpone assistance or stop it altogether. Three types of conditionality have evolved: Financial accountability: Transparency in the management of funding to ensure that what is done by the volunteers is properly targeted. Policy reform: Requesting governments of developing countries adopt certain social economic or environmental policies the most controversial relating to the privatization of services traditionally offered by the state. Development objectives: Asking developing countries to adjust specific time-bound economic objectives Some international volunteer organisations define their primary mission altruistically as fighting poverty and improving the living standards of people in the developing world e.g. Voluntary Services Overseas has almost 2000 skilled professionals working as volunteers to pass on their expertise to local people so that when they return home their skills remain. When these organisations work in partnership with governments the results can be impressive. However when other organisations or individual First World governments support the work of volunteer groups there can be questions as to whether their real motives are poverty alleviation or wealth creation for some of the poor or policies intended to benefit the donor states. This confusion exists because experience showswho that what is volunteered can distort the foreign and economic policy of the country receiving the aidfurther explanation needed. The economies of many low-income countries suffer from "industrialisation without prosperity" and "investment without growth". This arises because "development assistance" guides many Third World governments to pursue "development" policies that have been wasteful ill-conceived unproductive or even so positively destructive that they could not have been sustained without outside support.18 Indeed some of the offers of aid have distorted the general spirit of volunteering treating local voluntary action as "contributions in kind" i.e. as conditions requiring local people to earn the right to donor "largesse" by modifying their behaviour. This can be seen as patronising and offensive to the recipients because the aid expressly serves the policy aims of the donors rather than the needs of the recipients. The track record shows that making any aid conditional on policy reforms is often ineffective.citation needed Conditionality only works when there is a strong domestic commitment to reform and the recipient governments are democratic i.e. they are accountable to their own electorates.citation needed Volunteer organizations and their funding donors should respect the governments of the countries they wish to help and build on the deep-rooted traditions of people to help one another and thereby provide an important ingredient for social and democratic development.citation needed Criticism In the 1960s Ivan Illich offered an analysis of the role of American volunteers in Mexico in his speech entitled "To Hell With Good Intentions". His concerns along with critics such as Paulo Freire and Edward Said revolve around the notion of altruism as an extension of Christian missionary ideology and the sense of responsibility/obligation driving the concept of noblesse oblige first developed by the French aristocracy as a moral duty derived from their wealth. Simply stated these both propose the extension of power and authority over indigenous cultures around the world. Recent critiques of volunteering come from Westmier and Kahn (1996) and bell hooks (ne Gloria Watkins) (2004). The field of medical tourism (referring to volunteers traveling overseas to deliver care) has recently attracted negative criticism vis-a-vis the alternative notion of sustainable capacities (working in the context of long-term locally-run but foreign-supported infrastructures). A preponderance of this criticism has appeared largely in the scientific and peer-reviewed literature.192021 Recently media outlets with more general readerships have published such criticisms as well. See also Sustainable development portal List of volunteer awards Avocation Gift economy Money-free economy Voluntarism Volunteer fire department Without Borders References XU Y. & Ngai N. P. (2011). Moral Resources and Political Capital: Theorizing the Relationship Between Voluntary Service Organizations and the Development of Civil Society in China. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly. 40(2) 247269. (Retrieved April 17 2011 from: http://nvs.sagepub.com/content/early/2009/07/23/0899764009340229.abstract ) Kant I. (1998). Critique of pure reason (J. M. D. Meiklejohn Trans.). Raleigh NC: Alex Catalogue. Adorno T. (2000). Problems of moral philosophy (T. Schroder Ed. & R. Livingstone Trans.). Stanford CA: Stanford University Press. Blau P. M. & Duncan O. D. (1967). The American occupational structure. New York: Wiley. XU Y. & Ngai N. P. (2011). Moral Resources and Political Capital: Theorizing the Relationship Between Voluntary Service Organizations and the Development of Civil Society in China. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly. 40(2) 260. (Retrieved April 17 2011 from: http://nvs.sagepub.com/content/early/2009/07/23/0899764009340229.abstract ) XU Y. & Ngai N. P. (2011). Moral Resources and Political Capital: Theorizing the Relationship Between Voluntary Service Organizations and the Development of Civil Society in China. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly. 40(2) 247269. (Retrieved April 17 2011 from: http://nvs.sagepub.com/content/early/2009/07/23/0899764009340229.abstract ) Independent Sector Micro-Volunteering via Mobile Phones - Using Spare Time to Micro-Volunteer i-volunteer : HelpFromHome : Micro Volunteering - Changing The World In Just Your Pyjamas! Easy home based micro volunteer actions that benefit so many worthy causes! The Extraordinaries: Will Microvolunteering Work : NPR Smart-phone app lets you do good deeds in your spare time - CSMonitor.com San Francisco-based website offers micro-volunteering platform abc7news.com "The Economy's Impact on Back to School". Great Schools. 2009-08-06. http://www.greatschools.net/news/back-to-school-poll-results.page. Retrieved 2009-11-20.  Mapping Success in Employee Volunteering - The Drivers of Effectiveness for Employee Volunteering and Giving Programs and Fortune 500 Performance (2009) Boston College Center for Corporate Citizenship 2009. Retrieved 2010-04-21 VolunteerMatch.org - How companies benefit from EVP Retrieved 2010-04-21 Bush Announces Faith-Based Initiative "Aid taxation and development: analytical perspectives on aid effectiveness in Sub-Saharan Africa". World Bank. 1998-02-28. http://www-wds.worldbank.org/servlet/WDSIBankServletpcontdetails&eid0000092653980429111119. Retrieved 2007-07-12.  Bezruchka S. (2000). Medical Tourism as Medical Harm to the Third World: Why For Whom Wilderness and Environmental Medicine 11 77-78. Roberts M. (2006). Duffle Bag Medicine. Journal of the American Medical Association 295 1491-1492. Pinto A.D. & Upshur R.E.G. (2009). Global Health Ethics for Students. Developing World Bioethics 9 1-10. External links Wikisource has original text related to this article: Category:National Volunteer Week Volunteering at the Open Directory Project Volunteerism and legislation: a Guidance Note Inter-Parliamentary Union United Nations Volunteers International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies 2004 Independent free resource for volunteering opportunities v d eTopics related to charity Main topics Philanthropy  Alms  Tzedakah  Zakat  Tithe  Altruism  Gift  Donation  Alternative giving  Youth philanthropy  Volunteering  Noblesse oblige Organization types Voluntary association  Nonprofit organization  Non-governmental organization  Registered charity Charitable trust  Foundation  Private foundation  Charitable organization   Public-benefit nonprofit corporation  Mutual-benefit nonprofit corporation  Religious corporation Additional topics Charity Navigator  Charity badge  List of charitable foundations  List of wealthiest charitable foundations  Click-to-donate site  Halukka  Meshulach  Master of Nonprofit Organizations  Charity/thrift/op shop  Telethon  Warm-glow giving v d eEmployment See also: template Corporate titles template Workplace Classifications Casual / Contingent Full-time Part-time Self-employed / Independent contractor Temporary Wage labour Hiring Application Background check Contract Cover letter Drug testing Employment counsellor Interview Job fraud Job hunting Probation Recruiter (Employment agency Executive search) Overqualification References Rsum / Curriculum Vit (CV) Underemployment Work-at-home scheme Roles Employee Employer Internship Job Numerary Permanent Permatemp Supernumerary Supervisor Volunteer Attendance Break Career break Furlough Gap year Leave of absence Long service leave No call no show Sabbatical Sick leave Schedules 35-hour workweek Eight-hour day Flextime Four-day week Overtime Retroactive overtime Shift work Telecommuting Working time Workweek Wages Living wage Maximum wage Average wage (World Europe) Minimum wage (Canada Hong Kong Europe USA) Overtime rate Paid time off Performance-related pay Salary Salary cap Working poor Benefits Annual leave Disability insurance Health insurance Life insurance Parental leave Sick leave Take-home vehicle Safety and health Epilepsy and employment Ergonomics Industrial noise Occupational disease Occupational exposure limit Occupational health psychology Occupational injury Sick building syndrome Work accident (Occupational fatality) Workers' compensation Worklife balance Workplace stress Workplace wellness Equality Affirmative action Equal pay for women Infractions Discrimination Employee handbook Evaluation Labour law Sexual harassment Sleeping while on duty Workplace bullying Workplace incivility Workplace surveillance Willingness Anti-work Dead end job Job satisfaction Refusal of work Wage slavery Work aversion Work ethic Workaholic Termination At-will employment Constructive dismissal Dismissal Layoff Letter of resignation Recession-proof job Resignation Retirement Severance package Types of unemployment Unemployment Unemployment benefits Unemployment rates Wrongful dismissal