Types of volunteer work
Formal Volunteer Work
Formal volunteer work programs are long-term, organized programs that require continuous and regular attendance by volunteers. They are also managed by managers and coordinators who appoint volunteers, train them, and supervise their commitment to policies and procedures during their work. They also supervise the results they achieve and ensure their quality.
Informal Volunteering
Informal volunteering is one of the most common types of volunteering in local communities, and is usually managed by associations or unorganized or funded entities; informal volunteering is charitable work that aims primarily to provide assistance to people in need from the local population, and volunteers in these works usually see themselves as friends or family.
Governance and Leadership Volunteering
The work of volunteers in this type is based on providing administrative services in the leadership, guidance, and governance of voluntary institutions and associations, where they play planning roles, and have a significant contribution to their decision-making processes; this requires that volunteers have some basic qualities and skills, and have professional experience in the field of work of the institution in which they volunteer.
Social volunteering
This type of volunteering is based on one basic element, which is the gathering of volunteers and their rallying around a specific issue or common goal. Volunteers in this type of volunteering often view each other as friends or a group who share their enthusiasm and orientations towards the issue that unites them, and their primary goal is to achieve a specific social benefit or bring about a specific societal change. Not all volunteering that falls under this type is necessarily organized and has a specific structure, as some may be organized and some are unorganized, and they do not require volunteers to commit to regular volunteer hours.
Project-based volunteering
Volunteers in this type of volunteering provide their services to projects that have a pre-determined time frame, and this requires them to have a set of skills that help them achieve the goals of these projects according to their specified timetables. Project-based volunteering is part of an official program or an independent project, and is managed by coordinators or leaders whose primary role is limited to supervision.
Gap Year Volunteering
This type of volunteering usually targets young people, specifically students during their gap year, which is the year that constitutes a transitional phase between school and university. Students who wish to experience working with institutions or non-profit organizations usually resort to volunteer programs that give them the opportunity to travel abroad, and allow them to experience living with people, and adapt to the local cultures of different societies.
Volunteer Work Areas
Childhood and Youth
Volunteer work in the field of childhood and youth includes all activities and programs that aim to prepare children and youth for a better future based on integrating them into various aspects of life more effectively. Among the most prominent examples of volunteer work in this field are volunteering to care for children and take care of them in orphanages or nurseries, as well as organizing some events for youth; such as organizing sports activities for youth with special needs.
Local Community Development
This field is considered one of the broadest fields of volunteer work, as it includes many different works; Such as installing solar panels in medical clinics, or volunteering to improve some services in schools and other educational institutions such as universities, in addition to developing water collection systems in schools, or volunteering in training provided to fire brigades, etc.
Animal protection and care
This field includes all volunteer projects and programs that aim to care for and care for animals, especially some endangered animals, by paying attention to the factors that help save their lives; Voluntary animal care projects usually deal with a variety of birds and wild animals, the most important of which are elephants, monkeys, bears, tigers, horses, dogs, cats, and a variety of tropical birds and reptiles.
Women's Empowerment
Volunteer projects contribute to promoting women's rights and empowering them in various local communities; This is very important as women's empowerment projects leave many positive long-term effects on local communities, and create good opportunities to improve women's conditions in the fields of education, public health, and work, and contribute significantly to reducing mortality rates among infants and children; which ultimately leads to enhancing the well-being of the entire community.
Public Health
Volunteer public health programs are characterized by the fact that they do not require volunteers with prior medical experience or knowledge, as the opportunity to volunteer within public health programs is available to everyone, and they can apply for them and obtain the training they need. These programs are often educational and awareness programs that address a range of areas of interest in public health; such as focusing on disease prevention, nutrition improvement programs, personal hygiene, and maternal health, in addition to raising awareness of HIV and AIDS.
Fighting poverty
Poverty is one of the most important global challenges facing the international community; as the poor around the world suffer from problems of hunger, malnutrition, diseases, and limited access to health and educational services; therefore, many poor communities cannot meet basic needs; such as food, clothing, and shelter; therefore, reducing poverty is one of the main goals of the work and projects of many international organizations and voluntary associations that work hard to address it by organizing voluntary programs aimed at fighting poverty.
Sports Volunteering
Sports volunteering requires volunteers to have a certain enthusiasm and interest in sports. The volunteer does not need to be an athlete; it is enough to qualify him by the association he volunteers with, and train him in the skills and qualifications he needs to perform his role. The sports volunteer can perform a group of roles; such as training, refereeing, management, and organizing sports events and competitions.
