2008 International Volunteering News

Olympics push for volunteer service
17 July 2008 | People's Daily Online
Many tangible results will remain after the Olympics, including the Volunteers' Square at the Olympic Park, the Beijing Voluntary Service Foundation, the volunteer service information system, voluntary service stations in city operations, the volunteer hotline, and volunteer service in public welfare projects. 

Number of Olympic volunteers to surpass 1 million
30 June 2008 | People's Daily
From July 1, the first core group of volunteers for post offices, gas stations, parks, and public places will officially start their duties, beginning their service for the Beijing Olympic and Paralympic Games. During the Games, there will be over 1 million volunteers on duty.

Good better business
16 June 2008 | The Dominion Post
When Wanganui engineer Bob Smith floated the idea of volunteering his entire office to design and build a predator-proof enclosure for breeding injured kiwi birds, he got some queer looks. Admittedly, it was a big ask – and a rather unusual mission – so he did the democratic thing and put it to a vote among the 40-plus staff at Opus' Wanganui office. The end result – 15 months and at least 1600 manhours later – was an impenetrable 30m x 30m fence to protect injured birds, a residual sense of community goodwill and pride in a job well done.

Volunteers hold out hopes for a new society
16 June 2008 | China Foundation of International Studies
Serving as volunteers is a global phenomenon that has been around for decades. For instance, many people volunteered to go and save lives on the battleground in the name of justice as early as the two world wars. Dr Norman Bethune, the Canadian surgeon who went to China and is remembered forever by the Chinese people for making the ultimate sacrifice while helping China's War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression during World War II. He was one of the outstanding examples of volunteering endeavor.

Most health care volunteers in Canada are women. Here's why
9 June 2008 | World Volunteer Web
Why are almost all Canadian volunteers working with seniors women, as are roughly three-quarters of all health care volunteers? That's easy, you may say. It's because women are conditioned socially to take on such roles. According to Susan Pinker, author of 'The Sexual Paradox', it has more to do with biochemical drivers than society's expectations.

The latest office perk: Getting paid to volunteer
9 May 2008 | World Volunteer Web & Wall Street Journal
Corporate volunteerism often used to mean cleaning up public parks or building homes for the needy. Today, a growing number of companies are lending out skilled employees to nonprofits and struggling small businesses around the world.

Your ideas sought for IYV+10
9 May 2008 | World Volunteer Web
The year 2011 will be the 10th anniversary of the International Year of Volunteers 2001.  United Nations Volunteers (UNV) would like to hear your suggestions and opinions, as volunteers and interested parties, on how IYV+10 could be marked in 2011.

Just-in-time volunteering with your mobile
8 April 2008 | mobileactive.org
Ben Rigby imagines people sitting in airports during a layover, using their mobile phones to do something for a cause. Using an application called Volunteer Now!, potential volunteers could instantly be connected with short-term 'mini' volunteer opportunities near their present location. "We could utilise people's spare time to do good in the world,' he said. 'There's no method right now for that kind of thing but there should be."

International volunteer conference highlights Korean volunteers' work
4 April 2008 | World Volunteer Web
Seoul, South Korea: According to the Korean Council of Volunteering (KCV), the outstanding work of volunteers in Taean, South Chungcheong Province, devastated by the nation's largest ever oil leak, will be presented during the 20th International Association for Volunteer Effort (IAVE) World Volunteer Conference from 2-5 April in Panama.

Internet spurs upswing in volunteerism
4 April 2008 | World Volunteer Web
Youth volunteerism is surging as high school and college students use the Internet to mobilize quickly and nationally.

Encouraging youth to be volunteers
4 April 2008 | World Volunteer Web
Kigali, Rwanda: Global Trustees for Unity and Peace Volunteers (GTUPV), an NGO in Rwanda, promotes youth volunteerism and global development.

New online publication available! Engaging Ad Hoc Volunteers: A Guide for Non-profit Organisations
5 March 2008 | E-IAVE & NVPC
Engaging Ad Hoc Volunteers: a Guide for Non-profit Organisations (NPOs) shows how leading NPOs have benefited from the meaningful engagement of ad hoc volunteers. More people today prefer to volunteer on an ad hoc basis, rather than take on long-term commitments. With ad hoc volunteers, NPOs may be able to engage people with general and specialist skills that may otherwise not be available. Working alongside regular volunteers and staff, ad hoc volunteers can help to get more work done, more quickly and effectively. This publication provides NPOs with ideas on how to engage ad hoc volunteers. Download a free copy of the guide

SALT, Singapore's only magazine for the not-for-profit sector now available online
5 March 2008 | E-IAVE & NVPC
SALT, NVPC's quarterly magazine for people who give and receive is now available online. It features current issues facing the not-for-profit sector in Singapore, profiles best practices and contains analyses of local and international initiatives and research finds. Global experts on volunteerism including Susan Ellis and Andy Fryar have written for SALT as guest contributors. You can read the latest issue here:

Census information on New Zealand's volunteers
5 March 2008 | E-IAVE and Tim Burns, Executive Director of Volunteering New Zealand
People in the 60–64 age group were the most likely to be involved in voluntary work for an organisation, group or marae in the four weeks preceding census night. This was one of the interesting pieces of information included in Quick Stats about Unpaid Work released by Statistics NZ on 5 December international Volunteer Day. Nineteen percent of those aged 60–64 years undertook other voluntary work. Rates were also high for those aged 40–49 years and 65 years and over, with participation rates of 18 percent for these age groups. The analysis of the census data found that people who identified as Mâori and people who identified as New Zealander were most likely to undertake this type of voluntary activity. Nineteen percent of those who identified as Mâori and 20 percent of those who identified as New Zealander undertook other voluntary work. This compares with 15 percent of the total population overall. Download the full report of this newly released information

Beijing Olympics receives record volunteer applications
5 March 2008 | Beijing Organising Committee for the 2008 Olympic Games (BOCOG)
More than 1 million people had applied to be volunteers at the Beijing Olympic and Paralympic Games as of Tuesday, less than one month before recruitment ends, the largest response in the history of the Games, official statistics showed. More than 1.2 million have filed applications to be "City Volunteers", who will work at designated spots across Beijing, mainly to help overseas visitors overcome the language barrier, according to the latest statistics from the Beijing Organising Committee for the 2008 Olympic Games (BOCOG). Read more

ADA-CIVICUS assessment of Jamaican civil society
1 March 2008 | CIVICUS
Two centuries of volunteerism impacted by the tribal nature of Jamaica's political Culture. The Association of Development Agencies (ADA) implemented the CIVICUS Civil Society Index (CSI) project in Jamaica as CIVICUS' partner organisation. Overall, the political history of the Island has had a bearing on the structure of Jamaican civil society. The score of 1.5 reflects how CSOs continue to face challenges in resources. Despite these hurdles, CSOs operate in an enabling external environment (political, social, economic, cultural and legal) where legal institutions are conducive to civil society activity. The values dimension reflects some positive attributes by CSO activities; specifically in promoting transparency, tolerance and non-violence. The promotion of gender equity within the civil society arena is one of the strong points of Jamaican civil society. The Impact of civil society organisations has been moderate due to challenges em ana ting from low levels of trust and social capital within the civic space.

How to select 25,000 volunteers...
13 February 2008 | World Volunteer Web
Security officials promised a cutting-edge effort to weed out criminals, terrorists and troublemakers and select the 25,000 volunteers they need for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games to be held in Vancouver, Canada.

How to retain online volunteers, for years: A best practices example
1 February 2008 | Macdonald Youth Services
After nearly seven years of online volunteering for a charitable organization 1200 miles away, Toronto area resident, Tu Loan St-Cyr, is taking a leave of absence from a charitable organization she has never seen. St-Cyr, who began Internet-based volunteering with Winnipeg-based charitable organization Macdonald Youth Services (MYS) in 2001, clearly demonstrates that an online volunteer can be retained for years if appropriately screened, assigned and recognized, even though the non-profit has never met their volunteer face-to-face.

IAVE launches new Youth Volunteer Office
January 2008 | IAVE
At its 2007 meeting, the IAVE Board of Directors accepted a proposal from the Government of Catalonia to open under its sponsorship the IAVE Youth Office in Barcelona. This is a tremendously important development for IAVE as explained in this article prepared by the office team. Following is a message from the director of the office, Lluc Marti, about the office's e-newsletter. We are pleased to welcome Lluc and his team to the IAVE family.

Counting For More report
31 January 2008 | The New Zealand Federation of Voluntary and Welfare Organisations
The New Zealand Federation of Voluntary and Welfare Organisations' Value Added for Voluntary Agencies project was initiated in 2002 to provide economically valid measures of the work of voluntary organisations – specifically in terms of inputs, outputs and outcomes. As with the first stage of VAVA, Counting for More is a recognition that annual accounts alone do not adequately reflect the full value that community and voluntary agencies add to social well-being and the economy of Aotearoa New Zealand. Read the report summary

Volunteer levels static - New report
29 January 2008 | Pro Bono Australia
Volunteering levels have been fluctuating (18-20%) but remained broadly flat since 2003, with a notable slump amongst 54-64 year olds according to a new UK report. Over the past six years volunteering levels increased from 2001 to 2003 (from 16% in 2001 to 20% in 2004) and then have hovered around the 19% level since then - with the peak at 20% in 2004.

Japan shines at 11th IAVE Asia Pacific Regional Volunteer Conference
29 January 2008 | IAVE
The 11th IAVE Asia Pacific Regional Volunteer Conference took place from 7–11 December, 2007 in Nagoya-Aichi, Japan. Over 400 people from all over the region took part. Countries and areas represented included Australia, Bangladesh, India, Korea (with over 100 delegates), the Philippines, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Fiji, Mongolia, New Zealand and of course Japan. Participants discussed issues facing volunteerism in the region and learned from each other's experiences. Read more

Something about Mary
14 January 2008 | IAVE
Online version of the new biography on IAVE's Founding President 'Mary Ripley Volunteer - A Portrait of a Life of Service' by Ellen Linsley and Saralei Farner

New Chief Executive at Volunteering England
9 January 2008 | Volunteering England
Justin Davis Smith has pledged to strengthen Volunteering England's voice and influence on public policy while retaining independence from government following his appointment as Chief Executive of the country's leading volunteering development agency. He succeeds Christopher Spence, who retired in October. Read more

Make a date to volunteer
9 January 2008 | Peterborough ET
Young people in Peterborough were set up with volunteering opportunities at a link-up event on Friday. The New Skills Volunteer Speed Matching sees volunteering charity CSV team up with V, the youth volunteering charity, and Tesco to recruit 20 full-time "community catalyst" volunteers as part of the Agents4Change campaign. Read more

Time to check bogus volunteer organisations: India
7 January 2008 | World Volunteer Web & Kangla Online
Volunteerism has played important role in human civilisation. The people of the north east region especially tribal are seen expanding their voluntarism beyond their periphery and today they have built global network from their areas. After the advent of the Christianity in the north east, the people of north east have picked up the thread of volunteerism with the outside world particularly the Western countries.

Challenge assumptions about volunteering, researchers
January 2008 | World Volunteer Web
Researchers analysing the voluntary sector should use their studies to challenge the preconception that volunteering in all its forms is necessarily a good thing, according to the Institute for Volunteering Research. Read more

Volunteering benefits society and volunteers
January 2008 | China Daily
The number of registered volunteers has reached more than 25 million nationwide, according to the latest figures from the China Youth Volunteers' Association. Compared with our population of 1.3 billion, this number is not very impressive and neither is the voluntary service of accumulated 6.1 billion hours these volunteers have provided to society. Read more

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