The charity movement in Ukraine is actively growing and developing. You can help those who need it today in one click – by sending a reasonable amount to the address of the organization. However, such assistance is not always enough – specific actions are often needed “on the ground”: delivery of food and clothing, medical assistance, organizing lunches for the homeless, caring for the sick and much more. This work is performed by volunteers – people who voluntarily and free of charge engage in community service. 

Volunteering is an activity that is carried out voluntarily for society or individual social groups, without regard to remuneration. The French word volontaire (“volunteer”) comes from the Latin voluntarius (“voluntary”). A volunteer is a person who voluntarily provides free assistance to people in need of special support and social protection, or to the state, non-profit or public organization. Thus, they become volunteers not for financial reasons, but for the sake of voluntary help to others and gaining invaluable life experience. After all, by regularly and consciously helping others, a person gives them their time, skills and resources. And instead he gets something significant: knowledge, skills, experience, circle of colleagues, new acquaintances.  

No matter what motivates a person to become a volunteer, he or she can benefit others without harming himself or herself.  

Types of volunteering  

Many social groups need help and special care: people with disabilities, seriously ill people, orphans, retirees and more. Volunteers are ready to support them voluntarily. They can also participate in the organization of sports competitions, music festivals, educational activities. Volunteer organizations make an invaluable contribution to the evacuation of victims of natural disasters, participate in the construction of socially significant facilities. Thus, volunteering can be aimed at: 

  •  support for people who find themselves in difficult life circumstances – the poor, the homeless, the unemployed;  
  • creating conditions for the disclosure of creative potential of people with disabilities (exhibitions, concerts, workshops);  
  • search for missing people; 
  •  development of education and science; 
  •  environmental protection: ecological marches, fight against poachers, improvement of protected areas; 
  •  reconstruction of historical and cultural monuments;  
  • organization of sports, cultural, religious events.  

Reasons why people become volunteers  

At first, many may not fully understand why volunteering and working for free if you can do the same activity for money. Here are the main reasons why people become volunteers:  

  • desire to do good;  
  • the opportunity to change something in your life and in the lives of others;  
  • the opportunity to gain invaluable experience that can be useful in everyday life; 
  • teamwork, communication with like-minded people, new acquaintances, constant contacts with interesting people;  
  • desire to find application to their talents, strengths and abilities;  
  • opportunity to explore the country, traveling with volunteer teams. 

Our John Center also needs volunteer help: volunteering, helping with inclusive studios and activities, caring for a child with a disability while parents attend a psychologist’s class. How to become a volunteer of our Center, read here: https://ioanivcenter.com/pidtrymaty/. 

And remember, by devoting ourselves to something greater than ourselves, we become happier, our lives are filled with impressions and discoveries, we grow as individuals.