Development of volunteering
Nowadays, when the transition from the “welfare state” to the “care society” is a fact, volunteering comes to stand between the formal and informal care networks and thus become a strong link that unites the state and the human being as a whole.
The forms that volunteering takes today are expanding across the whole spectrum of social life, from the provision of care services to organised groups of volunteers working in areas such as environmental protection, education for socially excluded people and prevention of drug abuse.
Volunteering is a learning experience through which social, communication and professional skills are developed. The volunteer is not only the one who gives but also the one who gains from volunteering. In addition, the experience of volunteering and social contribution fosters the role of “active citizenship”.
The operation of the volunteer group and especially its activity in the local community has shown its crucial role in the dissemination and implementation of the philosophy of prevention.