AIDSbuzz

What is a volunteer?

Volunteers are people who do not receive any payment for the work they do, giving freely of their time and skills.

Why volunteer?

People volunteer for many different reasons which can include one or more of the following: compassion, religious beliefs, a conviction about a particular cause, a way to gain skills and experience, or a need feel involved and meet other people. Volunteering is a chance to make a difference and has been described as the act of ‘giving and receiving’. Most volunteers agree that you get back as much (if not more) as you put in through volunteering. Volunteering can be a very enriching experience, providing a person with a sense of usefulness, personal fulfilment, new friends, a varied work experience and an exchange of skills and knowledge. Volunteering is frequently a life-changing experience.

Read more about volunteer experiences
Read more about volunteer organisations

The role of volunteers in Non-Profit Organisations (NPOs)

NPOs rely heavily on volunteers to provide a huge range of public services for people affected and infected by HIV and AIDS. These services range from home-based care to counselling, education, training and childminding. Some smaller NPOs rely totally on volunteers, as they do not have any funding for salaries. Nearly half of the work force in the non-profit sector in South Africa is made up of volunteers. Volunteers therefore represent one of our society’s most valuable resources and should be both well respected and well managed.

What volunteers can provide:

• Additional skills, resources and manpower that would not otherwise be affordable to the organisation.
• Scope to expand the scale and nature of the operations of the organisation. For instance trained volunteer caregivers have dramatically increased the number of AIDS patients being looked after in their homes throughout South Africa.
• An important bridge between the community and the organisation, enabling community members to get involved and support the work of the organisation.
• A way of being able to respond to situations where manpower is suddenly needed on a large scale such as big fundraising events or special activities, or after crises such as a flood or fire.

Recruiting volunteers

Each organisation needs to plan how it will recruit volunteers and how many it can manage properly. It is better to have an active strategy in place rather than rely on word of mouth. Here are some ideas:

• Advertise in local community newspapers, contact churches, or put up notices at public venues such as libraries, shopping centres and clinics.
• Write a press release about the organisation’s work [see link] and mention the type of volunteers that are required. Make sure that details are provided so that volunteers know whom to contact or where to go.
• Register with an appropriate volunteer association, such as the Volunteer Centre or the Volunteer Child Network.