Volunteering. Areas of volunteering in Russia

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16

Volunteering as an idea of serving the community is as old a concept as "society". Throughout the ages, there have been people who realized themselves in communication and helping their community. What volunteers do today - we will consider in this article.

What is volunteering?

Volunteering is an activity that is aimed at providing gratuitous services to a person or group of people who are not relatives of a volunteer, without the expectation of a monetary reward. This wording most accurately defines the meaning of volunteering.

Unfortunately, at the moment there is no legal definition of "volunteer". And very often this word is used in a variety of situations. For example, volunteers are people who participate in government projects and receive monetary rewards for this. Many argue that such activities are not voluntary, but take the form of ordinary wage labor. According to the above wording, volunteers can be called workers who work in well-known enterprises without pay for the sake of gaining experience. However, such people are notare considered volunteers.

Volunteering in Russia

Volunteer activity in the Russian Federation originated in the late 80s of the last century. Historians claim that the volunteer movement has always existed, it just had no official name.

In Russia, volunteering is controlled by the highest authorities and regulated by legislative acts. So, in 1995, the State Duma adopted a law on volunteering, which is called "On Public Associations." It defines the rights and opportunities of voluntary groups. In the same year, the law "On charitable activities and charitable organizations" was adopted, which also regulates the activities of volunteers.

At the moment, the Russian government provides state support to volunteers. Thus, tax and other benefits are provided for voluntary organizations.

Now volunteering is very popular and even fashionable. Voluntary organizations existing in Russia are mainly focused on young people who are not busy with family responsibilities and permanent work. Most often, volunteer groups are organized at universities. Thus, RF volunteers have the opportunity to put into practice the acquired knowledge.

Problems of volunteering in Russia

Recently, volunteering in the Russian Federation is gaining new momentum. But, despite the positive trends, there are problems that hinder the development of volunteering. Thus, the current economicthe state of the country makes it difficult to use unpaid labor. Even in Soviet times, volunteering had a voluntary-compulsory form. Participation in public works was compulsory for all. This approach violated the principle of voluntariness. For this reason, most Russians have a negative attitude towards such activities and are in no hurry to sign up for volunteers in the Russian Federation.

Today, volunteering is based on young initiative people, in whose minds thoughts of support and assistance to those in need appear.

Volunteer activities

Volunteers play an important role in society. There are many problems in the modern world that cannot be solved without the help of volunteers. So, volunteering can be manifested in such main areas as:

• AIDS prevention;
• he althy lifestyle promotion;
• protect nature and keep the environment clean;
• prevention and fight against smoking, alcohol and drug addiction;
• providing assistance to the elderly, the disabled, orphans, the poor, migrants, refugees, the homeless and other people who need material and moral support;
• beautification of streets, houses, green areas;
• helping animals, maintaining nature reserves and zoos;
• conducting educational conversations with young people to prevent free sex and teenage prostitution;
• Internet volunteering, exemplified byWikipedia;
• help in organizing charity concerts and various festivals;
• providing assistance to law enforcement agencies, doctors, rescuers; for example, conducting a survey of the population or searching for a person lost in an unfamiliar area;
• technical support.

Volunteer Principles

Any volunteer activity is based on ideology. Various promotions, programs and all kinds of events are often accompanied by entourage. Usually volunteers wear clothes, hats with the symbols of a volunteer organization. You can also recognize a volunteer by badges. Such an ideology and adherence to principles makes the members of the organization feel their importance. Thus, volunteers must adhere to the following principles:

1. Always respect the rights, dignity, national and cultural characteristics of other people.
2. Promotion of a he althy lifestyle. Volunteers do not smoke or drink alcohol.
3. Always be kind. You can not use words and expressions that can offend or harm another person.
4. Volunteering is a legitimate way to participate in society.
5. A volunteer always has the right to choose.

Types of volunteering

There is a classification according to which the following types of volunteer activities are distinguished:

1. By activity: social, sports, virtual, environmental, construction,agricultural, concert, cultural, educational, office volunteering.
2. According to the location of a member of a voluntary organization: city, out-of-town and international volunteers.
3. By types of services rendered and work performed: escort, transportation, communication with the blind and deaf and dumb, care for bedridden patients, meeting at the train station or at the airport, servicing spectators, telephone duty.
4. By event name: festival, Olympic and Paralympic volunteers.
5. By the number of people involved: individual, joint or group volunteering.
6. According to the volunteer's affiliation to the organization: school, church, corporate, university, organizing committee volunteers.
7. Depending on the type of funding: self-supporting and subsidized.

Volunteering Forms

The following forms of volunteering are distinguished:

1. Individual volunteering.
2. Volunteering as part of a group of volunteers.
3. Volunteering through a volunteer organization.

Why do people volunteer?

People volunteer for different reasons. The main ones are:

1. A noble idea - it reflects the principles and importance of the activity.
2. Psychological need - many people want to do something useful for society. While participating in volunteer programs, they gain self-esteem and job satisfaction.
3. Need for communication - for this reason, very often people look for work in voluntary organizations.
4. Searching for new opportunities and interests – volunteering is often associated with non-standard approaches and new areas of activity.
5. Opportunity to make money - a lot of volunteers for the sake of financial enrichment. Although volunteering is considered a gratuitous activity, the volunteer still receives something, whether it be moral pleasure or material reward, if provided by the organization.
6. Self-realization is an opportunity to improve your career. As a volunteer, you can make new connections and gain respect in the community. Also, while volunteering, you can develop new professional qualities.
7. The desire to share their own experience - people who survived the financial crisis, alcoholism, drug addiction can predict and help prevent situations that happened to them.
8. Access to resources – Volunteers are generally able to travel a lot, use the internet, books, etc.