Volunteer is a person who voluntarily and free of charge helps those who need it, including through public campaigns, information dissemination events, etc. Volunteering, as an aid, probably always existed. Therefore, the concept of “voluntaris” already existed in Latin, which means “volunteer” in translation. From him came the French term "voluntaire", which appeared in the 18-19 centuries. People who voluntarily enlisted in the army are who the volunteers of the time are.
This term acquired a slightly different meaning after the First World War, when European cities suffered significant damage. In the twenties, the first volunteer rally was held near Strasbourg, whose participants from among the recently opposing parties - the French and Germans - jointly engaged in the restoration of the most affected farms in the areas of recent hostilities. At that time, there was an opinion about who the volunteers were, on the basis that the people who represented this movement propagated the ideas of peaceful coexistence, equality, and free aid. Therefore, the new organization has become very popular.
Volunteering was further developed after World War II, when actual attempts were made to establish interaction between Eastern and Western Europe, which were in a state of confrontation.
Who are volunteers today? This is about 20% of the French, about a third of the population of Germany, about 26% of the Japanese. All these people at least once participated in actions where voluntary help was needed. And some spend about 20 hours a week on community projects. Women are more likely to volunteer (up to 75% of all participants), pensioners, less often - working or schoolchildren, students.
In terms of organizing these projects, the experience of countries such as the USA and Germany is interesting. In America, the volunteer movement was actively developed in the 30s of the 20th century, when President Roosevelt created a mass organization to reduce unemployment. It consisted of up to 90% of the country's population at that time. In Germany today there are about 70, 000 voluntary associations, and there is a normative act “On the social year”, according to which, every graduate of the school can work in the social field for a year. This has a positive effect on his future career.
Who are volunteers from a personal point of view? These are people who seek to acquire knowledge and / or feel a great desire to help others. Often these are unemployed or people whose lack of work experience does not allow them to work in any field on a paid basis. Volunteer movement allows them to obtain the necessary skills, often contributing to employment or a new direction in labor activity.
How to become a volunteer? To do this, you just need to find organizations involved in similar activities in your city. Most likely, for work you will need to fill out a questionnaire and leave your contact details for an invitation to the project. Volunteers in Russia help people with disabilities, the homeless, the elderly, organize projects for children, environmental activities, and also participate in the search for people who, unfortunately, often disappear.
