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Special focus
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Australia considering plan to pay volunteers
Australian Prime Minister John Howard is considering a plan to pay retired volunteers for their efforts and to give tax breaks to volunteers still in the workforce. Under the proposed plan, volunteers in employment would be entitled to a personal income-tax deduction for the out-of-pocket expenses incurred in their volunteering. Elderly volunteers on limited incomes and those who were pensioners should be considered for some direct monetary return for their efforts.
The question is: if we start paying volunteers for their voluntary work and more people volunteer for the financial incentive, will it still continue to be voluntary work? Here’s what some of our readers think:
Sha Cordingley, Volunteering Australia:
“The issue is not one of payment but of reimbursement for the sometimes substantial costs incurred in the course of providing volunteer service. The impact of recent petrol price increases in Australia and the cost to volunteers of maintaining uniforms and equipment may prove to be a serious impediment to the continued burgeoning of volunteer involvement in Australia.”
Kim Toulouse, USA:
“I don't have a problem with reimbursing volunteers their expenses, but I do have a problem with providing "pay", even when it is couched in terms like "stipend" or "living expense". Either we pay or we don't; but lets not try and disguise what we do.”
Rod, Canada:
“Cover a volunteer's legitimate expenses? - YES! Pay a volunteer? – NO”
Lynn Doll, USA:
“It should be noted that AmeriCorps participants are officially called "members" so, while they are clearly engaged in community service, they are not considered volunteers. Their stipends, though small, are considered income and are subject to taxes, etc. This is a service program, not a volunteer program. Recruiting community volunteers is part of the mission of the members, however.”
Joanna Hamilton, UK:
By giving your time freely you really are volunteering for something and whilst all volunteers should be valued and recognised for what they do, financial rewards do blur the boundaries and perhaps give some people the wrong reasons for volunteering.
Tell us what you think
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News
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Volunteers needed for 2008 Beijing Olympics
Beijing, China: The Beijing Organizing Committee will begin recruiting hundreds of volunteers worldwide for the 2008 Olympic Games, Beijing Evening News reported today.
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Indonesian volunteers to help poor British communities
London, UK: Volunteers from Indonesia are being deployed to help fight poverty, drug and alcohol abuse in Glasgow, Scotland under Voluntary Services Overseas (VSO) Global Xchange programme. The programme also aims to give volunteers from poor countries a glimpse of the "rich and glamorous western life".
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China strengthens national volunteer campaign
Beijing, China: China has strengthened its campaign encouraging volunteers to help out in community activities, e.g., taking care of the poor and elderly, and expects to increase number of people volunteering to eight percent in 2008, from the current three percent.
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World volunteers meet in Scotland
Glasgow, Scotland: More than 1,200 volunteers, charity workers and trade unionists from around the world are in Glasgow, Scotland for a major international conference to discuss issues affecting civil society.
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Not enough volunteer leaders in UK for scouts and guides
Cardiff, Wales, UK: A huge renaissance in the popularity of the Scouts and Guides is causing a shortage of leaders in Wales, with too few leaders for the numbers of youngsters wanting to join up. Busy lifestyle and apathy are being blamed by officials.
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Community mobilization, volunteerism prove effective in Yogyakarta quake relief
Yogyakarta, Indonesia: In the little village of Garanguro, outside Yogyakarta, the neighbours helped each other pull victims out of the rubble. Emergency response is most effective, the author claims, when people themselves get involved in the first hours after a disaster.
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UK agency urges managers to volunteer in poor countries
London, UK: Business and management professionals are urged to share their skills and knowledge with people in poor countries while giving their long-term career prospects a boost, says VSO.
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US volunteering rate remains flat since 2002: Survey
Washington, DC, USA: More than 65 million Americans volunteered their time last year, but the participation rate has remained flat since 2002 and participation varies widely by state, region and ethnic group, according to a federal survey released Monday.
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National Volunteers' Day proposed to replace Queen's holiday in Australia
Tasmania, Australia: The Queen's Birthday holiday should be scrapped and replaced with something more uniquely Australian such as a national volunteers' day, says Tasmanian senator Guy Barnett.
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Viewpoints
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Open source is not volunteerism, says Sun Microsystem chief
by Colin Baker
London, UK: Speaking at the Open Source Business Conference, Sun Microsystems' chief open-source officer, Simon Phipps, said that open source had been focused for too long on sharing code instead of what he called "the enrichment of the commons." He elaborated that open source is "not volunteerism, it's directed, synchronized self-interest".
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Why can't I: Book volunteering opportunities online?
by Ingrid Marson
You can basically purchase anything from anywhere around the world in the Internet. In the web world, you'll also find missing high school classmates, create virtual communities and make friends. Yet, how come we still can't find a reasonable site that makes volunteering easier? One that does away with making tedious phone calls or awkward face-to-face visits?
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Prepare for storms, and to volunteer
by Wendy Spencer
A recent Florida Hurricane Preparedness Survey found that two-thirds of Florida residents are stocked this season with at least 72 hours' worth of food, water and other vital hurricane preparedness supplies. But being ready for hurricanes doesn't stop with stocking up. Make volunteering an integral part of your disaster preparedness plans.
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Priority?
For the past two summers, it has taken an overwhelming outpouring of volunteer labour and donated supplies to get Guam's public schools ready for the next school year. While it's wonderful that so many people from the community are willing to help out, the question is why is it necessary for them to do so? What if, for whatever reason, the school system doesn't get the needed level of volunteer work? What's the plan then?
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Volunteer Stories
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Snapshots of volunteering in Cairo
by Steven Bagshaw
Cairo, Egypt: Many of Cairo’s citizens are confronting urban-related problems, e.g., poverty, lack of housing and sanitation facilities, and internal migration through volunteering. Here are three projects showing how volunteers, through the United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme, contribute and mobilize fellow Cairenes in developing their 'triumphant city'.
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World Cup fans praise volunteers
by Laura Smith-Spark
Kaiserslautern, Germany: Teams of volunteers are making World Cup 2006 fans feel comfortable -- from handing out maps to giving advice on how to find a doctor to providing entertainment between matches. Picked out from thousands of applicants, volunteers were chosen for having multiple language skills and were trained to be culturally sensitive.
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Indonesia earthquake reveals the quiet heroism of survivors
by Mark Snelling
Java, Indonesia: As the aid operation in Java shifts from providing immediate relief, the long, painstaking task of recovery activities such as psycho-social support steps in. In villages worst affected by the 27 May quake in Java, people are finding solace knowing that in their culture helping one another is the norm.
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Helping Thailand’s orphaned children
by Kerry McQueeney
Volunteers are still feeling the effects of the tsunami, which struck southern Asia on 26 December 2004. Civilian police worker Emma Linney, for example, devoted five weeks to help orphans in southern Thailand recently. Shocked by the extent damage and how much help is still needed, she has encouraged colleagues to donate money and vowed to continue volunteering.
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Volunteers, locals struggle with language
by Slamet Susanto
Java, Indonesia: Volunteers for the Indonesian earthquake are trying to communicate with victims through sign language and volunteer interpreters.
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Indian sex worker takes to the streets to battle AIDS
by Anand Giridharadas
Mumbai, India: She's only known by her last name, Shah. Through peer-to-peer education she's teaching her fellow sex workers how to use condoms, helping prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS.
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