National Volunteer Week

In Romania, the volunteer organizations were mobilized to promote the concept of free labour for the benefit of the community.

For 11 years, National Volunteer Week have been trying to attract people in various charity actions, from caring for people with chronic diseases to cleaning up of green spaces.

According to polls conducted over the years, Romanians have a good opinion about volunteering, but a low degree of involvement in such actions.

In Iași, for example, the number of voluntary organisations has decreased , and those remaining are proposing to change this situation.

National Volunteer Week is the most important event of the year that aims recognition and appreciation of volunteers in order to highlight the importance of their contribution to the development of the community, but also to attract new people volunteering in specific activities.

The Coordinator of this programme, Georgiana Vieru, from Bethany Foundation of Social Services Foundation says that volunteers have made a human smiley, a smiling face, the message is to convey a smile to community, what they do day after day in activities that they carry out for the beneficiaries to organizations in which they work either children, or elderly, or other groups.

There are around 50 activities during the National Volunteer Week schedule are both proper activities of voluntary activities for children in hospitals, for children in placement centres, activities for elders, fundraising and volunteer activities, because you have to invest in them and to develop them, to help to develop their skills and there are also activities to promote effectively volunteering. Living library, Public Café are new concepts which arise in practice increasingly more in Iaşi, "says Georgiana Vieru.

This year 22 non-governmental organizations and institutions take part in.

In total there are 35 partners within National Volunteer Week.

"As the number of volunteers, once the number has dropped substantially, the organisations stressed the number of volunteers has dropped a little, but it remains a figure of 600-700 volunteers who estimate that this will be involved in activities this week," says Georgiana Vieru.

Translated by

Denisse-Meda Bucura

MTTLC, Bucharest University