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VOLUNTEERING: ENRICHING OTHERS AND HELPING ONESELF
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Volunteering, some might mistakenly think, embraces a plethora of people from all walks of life as well as activities, but data from the other side of the world suggest otherwise. A 2001 survey
on who participated in volunteering by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) in the United Kingdom (UK) revealed that people in higher-income households are more likely than others to
volunteer. In England and Wales. 57 percent of adults with gross annual household incomes of £75,000 or more, have volunteered formally (such as raising or handling money for a charity
or being a member of a committee) in the 12 months before the survey date.
As well as having high household incomes, volunteers also tend to have higher academic qualifications, be in higher socio-economic groups and be in employment. Among people with a
degree or postgraduate qualification. 79 percent had volunteered informally and 57 percent had volunteered formally in the previous 12 months. For people with no qualifications, the
corresponding proportions were 52 percent and 23 percent. But voluntary work is certainly not the exclusive preserve of the rich, nor should it be.
A breakdown in the year 2000 of the range of volunteering activities taken from The Australian Bureau of Statistics gives an idea of the scale of activities in which people are typically
involved. Eleven sectors are given ranging from Community and Welfare, which accounted for just over a quarter of the total hours volunteered in Australia, to Law/justice/politics with 1.2
percent at the other end of the scale. Other fields included sport/recreation, religious activities and education, following at 21.2 percent, 16.9 and 14.3 percent respectively.
Foreign/international volunteer work accounted for 2.4 percent of the total hours. The data here also seem to point to a cohort of volunteers with expertise and experience.
The knock-on effect of volunteering on the lives of individuals can be profound. Voluntary work helps foster independence and imparts the ability to deal with different situations, often
simultaneously, thus teaching people how to work their way through different systems.
Initially, young adults in their late teens might not seem to have the expertise or knowledge to impart to others that say a teacher or agriculturalist or nurse would have, but they do have many
skills that can help others. And in the absence of any particular talent, their energy and enthusiasm can be harnessed for the benefit of their fellow human beings, and ultimately themselves.
From all this, the gain to any community no matter how many volunteers are involved is immeasurable.
Employers will generally look favorably at people who have shown an ability to work as part of a team. It demonstrates a willingness to learn and an independent spirit, which would be
desirable qualities in any employee.
But what are the prerequisites for becoming a volunteer? One might immediately think of attributes like kindness. selflessness, the strength of character, ability to deal with others.
determination, adaptability and flexibility and a capacity to comprehend the ways of other people. While offering oneself selflessly. working as a volunteer makes further demands on the
individual. It requires a strength of will, a sense of moral responsibility for one's fellow human beings, and an ability to fit into the ethos of an organization or community. But it also requires
something which in no way detracts from the valuable work done by volunteers and which may seem at first glance both contradictory and surprising: self-interest.
1) Which sector accounted for the highest proportion of total volunteered hours in Australia?
-FUO
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