Some
people are fortunate enough to earn their livelihoods in jobs that directly help
to create a more peaceful, just and sustainable world. But much of the efforts
to make life better for our communities and our world are done by volunteers --
people who work for a better world without pay.
Around
the world, hundreds of millions of people volunteer - nearly 65 million volunteer
in America! American volunteers do the equivalent work of over 9 million fulltime
employees!
Recognizing
the importance of volunteers, the United Nations Volunteers programme (UNV) works
with a network of over 20,000 organizations to use International Volunteer Day
on December 5 as an opportunity to celebrate the important contribution volunteers
make, and as a launching point to inspire year-round volunteer involvement.
Many
countries have national networks of volunteer organizations. In the US these include
Youth Service America; the Points of Light Foundation which helps connect more
than 2.5 million volunteers who provide services for 170 million people; and Action
Without Borders, which links volunteers to 50,000 organizations in 165 countries.
US Government
agencies that promote volunteering include AmeriCorps, which provides money for
college tuition for youth volunteers; SeniorCorps which connects those over 55
to volunteer opportunities, and the Peace Corps for helping in other countries.
Volunteers ARE
creating a better world, one person and one act of kindness at a time.
