Volunteer numbers are shrinking in rural areas, leaving fewer people to battle bushfires. We need to change our thinking about volunteering to recruit more firefighters and keep the ones we have.
The gravity and force of this Category 5 hurricane that lashed the Florida Panhandle and other Southern states may never have fully registered on the public’s radar.
Conscripting young volunteers to combat climate change is not necessary. Australians aged 15-17 already have the highest rates of volunteering in the country.
Scholars researched whether bestowing awards on volunteers who pitch in with the Boy Scouts made a difference. The answer seems to depend on whether the recognition is expected or not.
No matter how well-intentioned, volunteers who may be inexperienced can’t solve the entrenched and complex social problems low-income communities endure.
When people form local networks to take care of resources such as drinking water, they strengthen their communities. Technology can support these efforts and promote learning and innovation.
Professor of Volunteering, Civil Society and Businesses and Professor of Strategic Philanthropy, Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University Rotterdam