VOLUNTEERS are people who portray serviceability, creativity, sensitivity to human suffering, high moral values, social consciousness, solidarity, leadership, responsibility, good people skills, the ability to work in a team, discipline, the ability to communicate, and concern for his/her own development as well as that of others.

WHAT IS VOLUNTEER WORK? Formally, volunteer work is work that is done without the intention of making a profit. It contributes to a cause of which the objective is the well-being of fellow men and of society in general.

WHAT MOTIVATIONS DO VOLUNTEERS HAVE? There are two main types of motivations and reasons that volunteers do such work:

• For ideological, moral and ethical reasons, which make them feel like others’ problems and necessities are theirs as well; they have the desire to do something to improve society, change things, and transform the world.
• For personal reasons, for the need to feel useful to society; to experience new things, to develop and change as a person, and to make friends and work with others.

ONE CAN BE A VOLUNTEER FOR SEVERAL REASONS:

• To be and feel useful.
• For the satisfaction of doing a good deed well.
• To have fun and take a break.
• To learn, in the broadest sense of the word.
• To give something back to society or humanity.
• To meet people with similar interests.
• For the recognition that comes with being a volunteer.
• To be able to help and share certain knowledge or skill.

FOUR KEY IDEAS ABOUT VOLUNTEER WORK

• Voluntarism. Voluntary work is the result of a free choice, it is a personal decision which does not expect anything in return. A volunteer’s personal motivations allow him/her to obtain satisfaction.
• Solidarity. Voluntary work only happens when it affects others and when its purpose is collective. Volunteering is a way to respond to social needs, problems and interests. It means that there is a commitment to improving the collective quality of life.
• Action. Volunteering is not only an ethical value. It is also action. If you are inactive but have a vague nature of a good person, a responsible citizen, then ultimately it becomes something empty and meaningless. Action changes the world.
• Organization. Voluntary work is not a personal, individual activity. Its objective is to improve social reality, change the world and to do it efficiently. Volunteering requires organized action and united forces. Therefore, voluntary actions must be organized, systematic, synergic and they require an organization, association or foundation within which to exist.