Summary

Back to: Volunteering

In this course section we examined the culture of volunteering and its institutional, psychological and social dimensions.

Traditional and newer, flexible institutional frameworks of volunteering have been described.

The motives of volunteering individuals have been explained: Altruistic motives such as social responsibility and religious-charitable convictions usually are combined with egoistic motivations, e.g. social integration, the needs for learning and gaining job-related qualifications, the wish for recognition, fun and fulfilment and the need for reciprocity.

We also depicted the psychological functions normally connected to volunteerism according to Clary and Snyder: Values, understanding, enhancement, career, social and protective functions.

Finally the benefits of volunteering activities were listed and explicated, e.g. connection to others, improvement of mental and physical health, career opportunities, fun and fulfilment.

It has been underlined that volunteers should reflect their interests and goals before starting an engagament in order to find the right place and role for their volunteer work.