Promoting the value of volunteering

Volunteering, a tremendous force for good in society, has expanded in scope and become more deeply established in Malta over the decades.

Traditionally the domain of the Church, in its striving to improve the lot of the disadvantaged as well as in its educational and missionary work, voluntarism has spread to include a whole plethora of philantropic organisations.

Besides their well-entrenched activities in social welfare, they now embrace the environment and health, culture and arts, science and sport. NGOs do anything from help children with learning difficulties to lobby for the preservation of valleys. They offer succour to hospital patients and fight for better pensions, promote heritage, home abandoned animals and lend assistance in emergencies.

In recognition of the growth of this sector, the laws regulating it have evolved, most notably with the Voluntary Organisations Act in 2007. This set up two institutions to bring about greater accountability, professionalism, coordination and support for NGOs: the Commissioner and the Council for voluntary organisations. Both do sterling work in raising the image and promoting the value of volunteering.

The Government does its share in providing financial support while the public too is recognising, more and more, the priceless work done by charities. This is evident from the ever growing sums of money donated via fund-raising activities, some of which have become national events.

More people are also stepping forward to give up their time freely. The National Statistics Office calculated that in 2008 there were nearly 22,000 people aged 12 and over doing some form of voluntary work. By 2011 that figure had grown to nearly 30,000. In this scenario of a voluntary sector going from strength to strength, there may be a threat looming on the horizon. While a recent study found young people were generally interested, sometimes passionately, about taking part in volunteering initiatives, they often failed to engage because of lack of time. Relationships, studies and jobs mean they don’t have much time to spare for charitable pursuits.

The study, commissioned by the Commissioner for Voluntary Organisations and the Parliamentary Secretariat for Youth and Sport, also found that young people have been “poorly socialised into giving time which does not give them an economic return”.

This trend does not augur well for the continued development of the sector and must be countered. The study suggests children need to be given more exposure to community values and to the benefits of voluntary work. This is an excellent proposal that can only be supported. Catching them young, as it were, would plant the seed by giving children a taste of the personal rewards that come from volunteering. For it is true to say that volunteers get back as much as they give.

Just as efforts are being made to boost entrepreneurship through school programmes, encouraging children to volunteer would arguably benefit society just as much in the future. Meanwhile, measures and campaigns should continue to push the cause among the present generations, both young and old.

The Budget not approved by Parliament proposed a stipend and other financial incentives for youngsters who undertake voluntary work – a good step. Another was the European Year of Volunteering of 2011. To capitalise further on the positive publicity, the heroes of charitable work, need to be continuously celebrated and the personal benefits of volunteering widely advertised. After all, only eight per cent of the population over 12 does some form of voluntary work: volunteering may have come a long way but the untapped potential is huge.