Volunteerism matters; empowering youths to give back to community and others

BY PAUL JUNOR

Volunteerism plays a significant role in our communities, society, world and lives. There are many definitions of volunteerism that one may find in different dictionaries, but they all emphasize the importance of giving back. According to the Collins English Dictionary, volunteer is defined as “The principle of donating time and energy for the benefit of other people in the community as a social responsibility rather than for any financial reward.”

According to Dictionary.com, it is defined as “The policy or practice of volunteering one’s time or talents for charitable, educational or other worthwhile activities, especially in one’s community.” Merriam Webster defines it as “The use or involvement of volunteer labor, especially in community services.” The common theme in all these definitions is the selfless act of giving of oneself to help others without expectation of financial recompense, rewards or material gifts.

It is important that our youths are encouraged to participate in volunteer activities, as it is one way that they can acquire important skills that can be transferred into the workplace. According to Wikipedia, “Volunteering is also renowned for skill development and is often intended to promote goodness or to improve quality of life.” Volunteering is so important for our high school students, which the Ministry of Education has mandated that they must complete 40 hours of community service as part of their graduation requirements to obtain their high school diploma. Many students exceed this minimum 40 hours with over 100 hours. They gain invaluable work-related skills and essential life-skills.

The three types of volunteer work favoured by Canadian teens according to Literacy Power OSSLC (2004) are: (i) education and research (ii) art, culture and recreation and (iii) social services. According to a national survey mentioned in Literacy Power on page 122, for at least one in four Canadians approximately 27% gave of their time and talents to non-profit organization or charitable organizations in the year 2000. It has been estimated that an average of 162 hours is given to volunteer work yearly and approximately 1.05 billion hours are devoted to these institutions, which translates into about 549,000 full time jobs.

A national survey (which was done in 1997) shows that approximately 31% of Canadians volunteered their time and skills. This was in fact a decline from previous years. The fact that we are living in a time of fiscal restraints, cutbacks in services and  lack of support programs, volunteers are more essential than ever. Youth volunteers are able to provide vital services to those who need help.

There are many organizations that youths can turn to in order to obtain volunteer experiences. Volunteer Canada (volunteer.ca) provides “National leadership and expertise on volunteerism to increase participation, quality and diversity of volunteer experiences.” They work with youths between the age of 11 to 18 years to create, plan and deliver volunteer projects within their own communities.

Youth Challenge International (www.volunteer/forever.com/program/youth) is “An international global youth development organization that promotes youth innovation to drive positive change.” International teams of volunteers’ age 18 to 35 years are involved in projects. Canadian Red Cross (www.redcross.ca/ about.us/ about the Canadian–red cross) mission is, “To improve the lives of vulnerable people by mobilizing the power of humanity in Canada and around the world.” Youth Volunteer Corps (www. yvc.registration.org) mission is to “Create volunteer opportunities to address community needs and to inspire youth for a lifetime commitment to service.”  It accepts youth ages 11 to 18 to be involved in different organizations such as YMCA, Boys and Girl Clubs, Parks and Recreation.

There are many ways that our youth can get involved. Feel free to share these programs with our youth, and take it a step further. Be an example. Start volunteering so that our youth can see us do it first.