Volunteer

From Free net encyclopedia

Template:Otheruses2 Image:Political volunteers.jpg 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.

Contents

[edit]

International 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.

A few organisations that place and support international volunteers:

[edit]

Online volunteer

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.

Resources focused primarily on helping people to find online volunteering opportunities:

[edit]

ICT volunteer

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.

Some organisations relating to ICT volunteering:

[edit]

Mandated volunteer

In recent years, "mandated volunteering" has been on the rise. This term is sometimes used to describe mandatory community service, such as (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.

The idea of mandated community service is controversial. Some people do not want to call such activity "volunteering," per their belief that volunteerism should be entirely "free will." Others adhere to the idea of "volunteering" meaning simply "unpaid labor" and, therefore, including those who provide mandatory service (who often work right alongside "regular" volunteers).

People opposed to involving such "mandated" volunteers include 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 no opposition to involving such "mandated" volunteers alongside their "regular" volunteers, and it has been found that there are benefits in mandated volunteering. A study done on data from the 2000 National survey of giving, volunteering, and participating found that membership in volunteer organizations is more likely to stimulate higher levels of electoral turnout and attentiveness to news and current affairs. The conductors of the study went on to say that, ”Governments should consider recruiting more young newcomers into the voluntary sector and reforming high school graduation requirements to include mandatory student memberships in volunteer organizations.” And it is worth noting that service learning, which combines academic instruction and community service, accounts for 65% of the 38% of youth that report of engaging in community service as part of a school activity.

For extensive statistics, regularly updated, on volunteering in the USA, see the Independent Sector and the Points of Light Foundation.

[edit]

See also

[edit]

External links

Template:Wiktionary

it:Volontariato he:התנדבות nl:Vrijwilliger ja:ボランティア pl:Wolontariat sv:Volontär th:อาสาสมัคร zh:志愿者

Retrieved from "http://www.netipedia.com/index.php/Volunteer"