Forms Of Volunteering Research Articles

Volunteering and Catholicism in Europe. The Inside Perspective Part 2: Empirical

In the paper we analyse the social activity practices of Catholic persons, as a set of individual and collective action emerging from the Catholic identity and – to more or less extent – structuralised under the Church-related formal non-profit initiatives. The purpose of the study is to clarify: (1) to what extent the Catholic unpaid social activities of different kinds could be classified as forms of volunteering and (2) to what extent the third sector definitions of volunteering are included in specific Catholic activities. Three tendencies have been observed with respect to not including religion-oriented volunteering in voluntary studies. Firstly, while using tools for collecting data adequate for the secular world, researchers face methodological difficulties to successfully cover social activities organized in parishes and congregations. Secondly, a reductionist approach reflects the ideological-rooted tendency to treat religion as a matter of private life. Thirdly, some religious-based entities tend to keep social activities of the believers within the Church-related circle. From the Catholic perspective, volunteer engagement represents an important aspect of faith-based every day activities, the so-called lived religion. At the same time, social engagement of believers provided within the Church-related entities, as well as outside them, usually fulfils all main features of volunteering. The relation between volunteering and religion is to be referred not only to the general position of faith-based and religious organizations in the public sphere, but also to the embeddedness of religious life in the society, as in fact both religion and volunteering are categories social per se. We illustrate our reflection on volunteering and Catholicism by presenting empirical evidence from the 2018 panel expert research among representatives of 29 Catholic Bishops Conferences across Europe.

Exploring the service learning program in the transition country context from the students' philanthropic behaviour vantage point: Case of Croatia

AbstractService learning is gaining growing attention in the academic community worldwide largely due to the benefits related to distinctive service learning outcomes. Among the many valuable student‐level outcomes, intention for future civic engagement through philanthropic behaviour is one of the most commonly investigated. This study provides an in‐depth analysis of students' participation in service‐learning programs and their future philanthropic behaviour in the form of volunteerism. A qualitative content analysis is conducted on the sample of students participating in an university's institutionalized service learning program of a transition country to explore its outcomes in this distinctive context. The findings identify four essential elements in assessing service learning participation, including three previously recognized ones and one emerging from the distinctive transition economy context. The findings are of particular importance for shaping the future civic engagement of students through philanthropic activities.

VOLUNTEERING: SPECIFIC ASPECTS OF PUBLIC LEGAL REGULATION

The subject of the study is the conceptual, theoretical, methodological and applied provisions of volunteer activities. Methodology. General scientific methods were used in the research process. The comparative method was used to compare different forms of volunteering and different contractual instruments for formalising volunteering relationships. Analysis was used to determine the quantitative and qualitative parameters of current and previous legislation. Synthesis was used to identify the main characteristics of voluntary activities. The historical-legal method was used for the purpose of researching the historical retrospective of the development of legislation on the relevant problem. The purpose of this article is to analyse the past and present normative regulation of volunteering, comparing approaches to the regulatory framework before and after the normative reform of the relevant institution. The research also aims to identify the influence of socio-political and socio-economic trends on the transformation of the institution of volunteering. The results of the study have shown that since the beginning of the full-scale invasion of the Russian Federation, the institution of volunteering has undergone a continuous transformation, mainly due to the fact that volunteers focus on the performance of their daily tasks before adhering to public legal norms and regulations. This is quite understandable, as the interests of national defence and military support take precedence over individual elements of public law regulation. Consequently, the state is constantly seeking mechanisms for institutional simplification in the regulation of volunteer activities. Conclusion. To date, the regulation of volunteer activities in Ukraine operates in both the private and public legal spheres. It's worth noting that while the private legal regulation of volunteer activities is flexible and concise in its normative framework and generally does not raise significant concerns, the same cannot be said for the public legal regulation of volunteer activities. Since the beginning of the Russian Federation's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, tax legislation on volunteer activities has undergone several changes. In particular, from the outset there was a more liberal approach to the tax and legal regulation of volunteering than later developed. This was partly to avoid situations where volunteering could be used as a mechanism to evade taxation or to legitimise income obtained by criminal means.

Volunteering and Catholicism in Europe. The Inside Perspective. Part 1: Theoretical

The paper analyses the social activity practices of the Catholic persons, as a set of individual and collective action emerging from the Catholic identity and structuralised under the Church-related formal non-profit initiatives. The purpose of the study is to clarify: (1) to what extent the Catholic unpaid social activities of different kinds could be classified as forms of volunteering and (2) to what extent the third sector definitions of volunteering include the specificity of Catholic activities. There are three reasons for observed tendencies to not include religion-oriented volunteering in voluntary studies. Firstly, while using tools for collecting data adequate for the secular world, researchers face methodological difficulties in order to successfully cover social activities organized in parishes and congregations. Secondly, fonist approach reflects the ideological-rooted tendency to treat religion as a matter pertaining to private life. Thirdly, some of religious-based entities tends to keep social activities of the believers inside the church-related circle. From the Catholic perspective, volunteer engagement represents an important aspect of faith-based daily activities, so called ‘lived religion’. Social engagement of believers provided within the church-related entities, as well as outside them, usually fulfils all the main features of volunteering. The relation between volunteering and religion is to be referred, not only to the general position of faith-based and religious organizations in public sphere, but also to the embeddedness of religious life in the society, as in fact, both religion and volunteering are categories social per se. Reflection on volunteering and Catholicism is illustrated by presenting empirical evidence from the 2018 panel expert research among representatives of 29 Catholic Bishops Conferences across Europe.

Conceptualizing new forms of volunteering in urban governance

This article argues that developments in the spheres of the state, the market, and the community have changed their boundaries, affecting volunteering in urban governance. Shifts in the division of tasks between the state and community have led to a new form of manufactured volunteering, while technological developments have made it easier to bridge trust gaps, resulting in platform volunteering. Moreover, business organizations pursuing public goals and using public resources have created a new form of economic volunteering. Thus, three illustrative cases are used to explore these new forms of volunteering and their main strengths and weaknesses. These new forms challenge traditional conceptions of volunteering work and the ideal-typical role model of “the volunteer.”

Медиаволонтерство в профессиональном образовании в контексте методики «Обучение служением»: экспертное мнение

Importance. In 2023, the demand for the “Service-learning” methodology has increased significantly due to the updating of approaches to the implementation of state policy to preserve and strengthen traditional values in the system of educational work of an educational organization of higher education. Currently, “Service-learning” is considered as a special form of project-based learning, which involves the development of professional skills among undergraduate students through their close interaction with non-profit organizations. In this context, we are talking about creating conditions for more effective mastery of the educational program by involving students in socially significant project activities, which are directly related to what is within the scope of interests and practice-oriented activities of students. The methodology is aimed at developing citizenship, patriotism, civic solidarity and traditional values in students. The university as an educational center provides students with great opportunities for self-realization and practical activities. An educational organization of higher education is an effective platform for the development of intellectual areas of volunteering, which include media volunteering. The purpose of the study is to identify the attitude of the specialized expert community and employers in the media field to the promotion of volunteering and support of media volunteering as an effective tool for developing professional and universal competencies of students in communication fields of study in the process of integrating the “Service-learning” methodology into the university educational environment. Research methods. Media volunteer activities are studied in the context of the professional development of students in communication areas of training, as well as the introduction of the “Service-learning” methodology. The influence of media volunteer experience on the career trajectory and personal development of students is considered. The methodology of an expert survey with experienced managers in the media field was is in order to identify the attitude of the specialized expert community to the development of media volunteering and expanding the range of its effects for both subjects and beneficiaries. Results and Discussion. It is revealed that the expert community in the field of communications has a positive attitude towards the promotion of volunteerism, and media volunteer experience is considered by the majority of respondents as a competitive advantage in the labor market. At the same time, there is a lack of awareness among experts about the specifics of media volunteering, and a number of problems and opportunities for development in the field of promoting volunteerism are identified. Among the problems: lack of information about the opportunities and forms of volunteering, lack of specialized promotion skills among representatives of the non-profit sector, as well as adherence to outdated forms of communication. Opportunities include: attracting and stimulating media volunteers, monitoring and using new formats and communication channels, creating creative projects and using storytelling. Conclusion. Media volunteering, based on expert opinion, can be considered an effective area of practice within the framework of the “Service-learning” methodology, aimed both at developing professional and non-professional skills of students in communication areas of training, and at developing volunteer activity as one of the priority areas of Russia’s youth policy.

ВОЛОНТЕРСТВО ЖІНОЦТВА ЯК ЕФЕКТИВНА СКЛАДОВА БОРОТЬБИ З РОСІЙСЬКИМ АГРЕСОРОМ (СОЦІО-ФІЛОСОФСЬКИЙ ТА ФІЛОСОФСЬКО- СВІТОГЛЯДНИЙ АНАЛІЗ)

The investigation is devoted to the study of the phenomenon of volunteering in modern Ukraine. Today all kinds, types and forms of volunteering, which are involved in the public space of both the warring country and the world complimentary to it, deserve close attention, support and study. This is, in particular, because it is the large-scale volunteer movement that is important along with the activities of the Armed Forces a component of the approaching Ukrainian Victory in the fight against Putin's totalitarian regime. The authors of the article pay special attention to the female component of volunteer activity, since the women of Ukraine have become the main volunteer force in helping the Armed Forces and victims of Russia's aggression against the Ukrainian nation and state. The volunteer movement has become the main formative factor of the developed civil society on the territory of modern Ukraine. Despite of the great interest in the study of volunteering in Ukraine and abroad, existing in the domestic socio-humanitarian discourse, a certain corpus of texts has already been created. It is worth admitting that scientists do not have time to analyze all the variety of manifestations of volunteer activity, its specific characteristics in various aspects, in particular, and what concerns gender component of the problem. The purpose of this investigation is to analyze the specifics of the phenomenon of female volunteerism during Ukraine's war with the Russian aggressor as an effective component of this struggle and the approach of Ukrainian Victory. The research is conducted with an emphasis on the socio-philosophical and philosophical-worldview basis. Such a phenomenon as "intellectual volunteering" deserves special attention of scientists, the analysis of which is planned to be devoted special attention in a future study.

Frivillighed - velfærdsstatens redning?

In this paper, we investigate the collaborative work between three Danish nursing homes and the Copenhagen Municipality’s Administration for Health and Caregiving, in involving volunteers in the activities of the residents in the nursing homes. Changes in demographics have led to discussions among authorities and in public debates about alternatives to the historically professionalized welfare services, and to increase the degree of volunteerism as a measure for handling this development. We analyze the collaborations with Susan Leigh Star’s concept of invisible work and the ethnological State and Life-mode Theory and Niels Jul Nielsen’s notion of civil servant life-mode. We show how the invisible work being done is the prerequisite for the volunteer work, and how further integration of volunteerism in the welfare requires new forms of volunteerism, as volunteers may in practice be handling tasks that are currently being handled by welfare professionals. This turns out to be problematic, as volunteering seems to thrive in the space between unspokenness and a formalized framework.

Psychological Predictors of Medical Students’ Involvement in Pro Bono

Theory Medical pro bono, in which medical professionals provide no (or low) cost services, is one approach to addressing unmet healthcare needs. Prior efforts to understand who chooses to take part in pro bono and why they might do so have been primarily atheoretical in their approach. The current investigation focuses on students in medical school and draws on relevant theory and research in psychology to identify predictors of their intentions to engage in medical pro bono service during and after medical school. Hypotheses:Four major approaches to identifying predictors of medical pro bono are examined: the role of demographic variables as predictors of medical pro bono, conceptualizing medical pro bono as a form of volunteerism, viewing medical pro bono as an expression of personality, and medical pro bono as a reflection of role identities and expectations. Each of these approaches can be characterized as being about medical students’ individual attributes or aspects of the situation they are in. Methods A total of 278 medical students from 15 different medical schools in the United States of America completed a web-based survey (8/4/2020–9/22/2020). The students completed measures of pro bono identity and expectations, intentions to engage in medical pro bono activities, prosocial personality, volunteer motivation, exposure to volunteering, general traits of personality, and demographic variables (in this order). We used linear regression analyses to separately predict three measures of intentions (general medical school intentions, intentions toward medical pro bono trips during medical school, and general post medical school intentions). Results The strongest predictors of intentions to engage in medical pro bono were one’s identity and expectations related to pro bono. Medical students who had incorporated medical pro bono into aspects of their identity and/or considered medical pro bono to be an expectation indicated higher intentions to engage in medical pro bono work. Conversely, volunteer motivation/exposure, personality, and demographic variables were much weaker predictors of medical pro bono. Conclusions The findings of the present study have implications for ways that medically oriented volunteering may be increased by individual-level interventions and/or changes in medical education. Individual-level interventions could leverage the importance of identity and expectations to craft persuasive messaging to appeal to identity and expectations as drivers of engagement in medical pro bono. Program level interventions could work toward the institutionalization of medical pro bono by the inclusion/promotion of medical pro bono into the program’s co-curricular and/or extracurricular activities.

Strategies of Prosocial Behavior During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Background:To mitigate the potentially devastating effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is vital to identify psychosocial and moral resources. The care, preservation, protection, and well-being of social communities are attributes of prosocial behavior that can be such a resource.Aim:The purpose of the study is to identify the features of prosocial orientation during the COVID-19 pandemic.Methods:The sample consisted of 447 people. The study was conducted in May 2020 in the form of an online survey of subjects using Google Forms (“Portrait Values Questionnaire”).Results:The research made it possible to establish that participants were dominated by values of benevolence-universalism. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the prosocial orientation may manifest itself in the following behavioral strategies: proactive prosocial strategy of “caring for others” (true altruism, expressed in forms of volunteering, helping a stranger, and charity despite the risk of contracting a coronavirus infection); egoistic strategy of prosocial behavior “self-care through caring for others” (volunteering based on self-development; helping a stranger to improve your own psychological well-being); conventional prosocial strategy “self-care” (self-isolation and preventive behavior).Conclusion:In the long run, it is necessary to identify personal and environmental resources that can allow people to effectively implement a prosocial self-isolation strategy during the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as various forms of volunteerism.

Humanitarian Athletic Participation and Identity Work.

Numerous studies examine youth purpose and volunteerism, but only few investigate how altruistic activities shape identity development within athletic contexts. Endurance-based humanitarian fundraising teams are becoming increasingly popular forms of volunteerism among adolescents and young adults in the United States, but little is known about their developmental role. Twenty-four participants (15–21 years of age; M = 17.42) were interviewed to identify the prominent themes that arose from their experiences while training for and participating in a marathon. A thematic analysis was used to determine the dominant themes that characterized the intersection of humanitarian marathon training and running with aspects of identity work. The majority of the comments of the participants were directly tied to their experiences in running the marathon. Four themes were identified including identity work, faith, purpose, and social connection. More so than exploring their possible selves, a consistent theme throughout the interview with the participants was what they learned about their current selves and the capacities they already possessed during their marathon experience.

How Do We Inhabit Openness?: Rethinking Volunteerism in the Context of Whole Person Education

— In this paper, I aim to advance a reframing of our understanding of “whole persons” in the well-established paradigm of Whole Person Education. At a time characterized by rising social conflicts and schisms, what would be an appropriate humanistic reimagination of a so-called well-rounded person? Drawing on the work of anthropologist Tim Ingold and using youth volunteerism as an exemplar of social practice, I propose the idea that a whole person, if achievable, is someone who inhabits “the open” as an unfolding, interconnecting, vibrant, and enjoyable horizon. Further, it is suggested that this open horizon moves with, and is moved by, strangers. It is hoped that an epistemology of the open that embraces stranger relationality, in the form of volunteerism or any other related social practices, will help us move toward a new whole personhood.

Prosocial Orientation of Russians During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Caring for Others and Yourself.

To mitigate the potentially devastating effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is vital to identify psychosocial and moral resources. The care, preservation, protection, and well-being of social communities are attributes of prosocial behavior that can be such a resource. The purpose of the study is to identify the features of prosocial orientation of Russian youth during the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as to identify strategies for prosocial behavior during the COVID-19 pandemic. The sample consisted of 447 people. The study was conducted in May 2020 in the form of an online survey of subjects using Google Forms (“Moral Foundations Questionnaire method” and “Portrait Values Questionnaire”). The research made it possible to establish that Russians were dominated by norms of care, fairness, purity; values of benevolence-universalism, security, and self-direction. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the prosocial orientation of Russians may manifest itself in the following behavioral strategies: proactive prosocial strategy of “caring for others” (true altruism, expressed in forms of volunteering, helping a stranger, and charity despite the risk of contracting a coronavirus infection); egoistic strategy of prosocial behavior “self-care through caring for others” (volunteering based on self-development; helping a stranger to improve your own psychological well-being); conventional prosocial strategy “self-care” (self-isolation and preventive behavior). In the long run, it is necessary to identify personal and environmental resources that allowed people to effectively implement a prosocial self-isolation strategy during the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as various forms of volunteerism.

The potential of mentoring and befriending as a complementary form of support for a professional social service system

Contemporary reality brings many adverse social phenomena, both for individuals and entire groups. The assistance provided by professional support systems are insufficient as in Poland as in the world. The important role of professionally organized volunteering in solving social problems is emphasized in the context of implementing tasks in the field of social services. Noteworthy proposal successfully implemented in United Kingdom are mentoring and befriending programs functioning there as a standard of assistance to people at risk of social exclusion. This form of volunteering is still little known in Poland and mentoring programs are not popular. It is difficult to find works in Polish on studies related to volunteering in the form of befriending and mentoring. Therefore, the article is to fill the gap in this regard. The article presents the assumptions, organization, forms of this type off support as well as its benefits and limitations basing mainly on the example of the solutions used in United Kingdom. Considering the growing demand in Poland for measures preventing social exclusion or supporting the process of (re)integration, the British examples as well as the existing conceptualisations and practices related to mentoring and befriending may be used as inspiration.

Scholarship funds as a form of volunteerism in education in independent Ukraine

Scholarship funds as a form of volunteerism in education in independent Ukraine

A shared risk: volunteer shortages in Australia’s rural bushfire brigades

ABSTRACT In the latter part of 2019 and into 2020, Australia experienced an unprecedented bushfire season, with major bushfires burning more than 18 million hectares. The scale of the fires served to highlight Australia’s heavy reliance on rural volunteer firefighters, bringing into sharp focus the long-term issues that many volunteer bushfire brigades have faced with recruitment and retention. Against the backdrop of long-term government dis-investment into the provision of essential services in rural communities, and with rural volunteer participation at saturation, a deeper understanding of the factors that influence involvement in volunteer bushfire brigades is vital. This review paper examined the factors that have contributed to rural volunteer shortages, particularly in the Australian context. The research revealed that increased time and financial demands on volunteers hampered attraction and retention efforts. The time and financial costs for individuals to volunteer had risen as a result of increased centralised regulation of volunteer provided services. Given the reliance of Australia’s broader population, environment and economy on the work of volunteer firefighters, there is a critical need for new empirical research to investigate how organisational cultures, changes in attitudes to different forms of volunteering and changes in employment practices will impact rural volunteer bushfire services.

Immersive professional activities as learning: Irish teachers learning from overseas volunteering in India

ABSTRACT When centred on the professional exchange of skills and knowledge, overseas volunteering can be a beneficial form of professional development. In contrast to voluntourism where volunteers buy an overseas experience, professional-based overseas volunteering centres on professional collegiality and skill exchange which leads to greater professional engagement for all participants. This research identifies the learning arising from a short-term overseas volunteering exchange between Ireland and India. The volunteers are Irish teachers working with their professional colleagues in India. Intentional professional learning related to their professional contexts can be seen through the themes of the theory/practice divide, experimentation and innovation, and the uncovering of knowledge. It is argued that the recruitment and selection of volunteers by the NGO are viewed as essential stage where attitudes are addressed. Data were collected by in-depth interviews as well as accompanying volunteer groups to India. The paper concludes with a summary of how volunteer professional exchanges need to be distinguished from other forms of volunteering; the work undertaken has benefit to both communities as it reflects collegial values and provides opportunities for professional learning through collaboration and reflection. Differentiation between forms of overseas volunteering is necessary to recognise the positive outcomes of professional volunteering exchanges.

Self-advocacy as a form of volunteerism of people with disability

Self-advocacy is both a competence necessary for independent adult life and a form of activity of people with disability in terms of exercising their rights to self-determine. It is also a form of social inclusion and participation, often having a character of volunteer engagement of people with disability in work for their minority group. Although the access of people with disability to the sphere of supporting other people is still limited, self-advocacy seems to be a promising form of changing that. In this article self-advocacy and volunteering are discussed in the context of models of disability. The ways how self-advocacy brings to life the functions of volunteerism which concern the creation of self and benefits for the society in general are described. Conclusions are derived with regard to the meaning of self-advocacy and volunteerism in supporting the social participation of people with disability.

Borgaravitund ungmenna skoðuð í ljósi uppeldissýnar foreldra þeirra

Mikilvægt er fyrir framtíð lýðræðissamfélaga að hlúa strax í æsku að borgaravitund barna og ungmenna, bæði góðum gildum og þátttöku í samfélaginu. Í þessari tilviksrannsókn var skoðað hvernig borgaravitund tveggja ungmenna endurspeglar uppeldissýn foreldra þeirra og gefa meginniðurstöður hennar til kynna skýra samsvörun þar á milli. Veganesti foreldranna var áhersla á náin samskipti sem einkenndust af umhyggju og stuðningi, djúpar samræður og gildismat þar sem vægi virðingar, skilnings, velferðar samborgara og samfélagsábyrgðar var mikið. Þá nefndu bæði foreldrarnir og ungmennin mikilvægi nokkurra óformlegra borgaralegra viðmiða, eins og að fylgja lögum, vera vinnusamur og koma vel fram við aðra. Gildi rannsóknarinnar liggur í vísbendingum um að foreldrar gegni mikilvægu hlutverki við að efla borgaravitund barna sinna. Til að styðja við borgaravitund ungmenna þurfa foreldrar að setja það í forgang í uppeldinu að rækta góð samskipti, hlúa að gildismati og gefa samræðu þar sem rædd eru ólík sjónarmið og lausnir fundnar aukið vægi.

URBAN SOCIAL PROJECT ‘HOSPITAL CLOWN’ AS A NEW FORM OF LAUGH CULTURE

The aim of this work is to implement hospital clowning as an urban social project into the space of social and philosophical research. One of the bright and good projects in volunteering is hospital clowning. As a form of volunteering, hospital clowning has not been practically investigated that this activity of rehabilitating children in hospital in many countries is a professional activity. The research methodology consists in using a combination of general scientific and interdisciplinary research methods: induction and deduction, generalization, ‘case studies’, historical and comparative approaches. According to the philosophical and anthropological ontology of M. Bakhtin, a dialogical worldview opens up prospects for an existential-ontological understanding of the ethics of an act. The scientific novelty of the study is to consider hospital clowning as a variety of ‘laughter culture’, “popular laughter’, ‘carnivalization’ and, at the same time, ‘responsible act’ of volunteers who develop this direction in different cities of Ukraine. Volunteering contributes to the formation of a democratic society, which should be based on the principles of freedom, creativity and humanism. Among the reasons why people engage in volunteer activities and charity is the desire to share what is good, moral, fashion or the trend to do good, because it is accepted and brings moral satisfaction. Sometimes a person feels a need or emptiness in himself and tries to fill it through good deeds. In creativity, along with clowns, children rest from medical procedures and reveal their fears and experiences. Such art therapy is directed against the ‘hospital syndrome’, and the clown becomes a companion for the child to recover. In some hospitals, clowns accompany the child to surgery, and distract the child during painful medical procedures. Prospects for further research are to study the role of biographical / autobiographical experience in the framework of hermeneutic and phenemenological interpretations. This will contribute to the creation of a cross-disciplinary concept of medical gelotology and the development of a modern laughing culture.