Voluntourism, obstacle or accelerator of international solidarity?

According to the United Nations, volunteerism is an essential vehicle for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals that the international community has set for 2030. Volunteering improves development, here as elsewhere, because it feeds the societal need to improve the human condition. In recent years, a type of volunteering has surfaced to fulfill both the desire to “volunteer” and partake in “tourism” for development purposes. This type of volunteerism is called voluntourism.  Not surprisingly, it has enticed many well-intentioned Westerners to travel and volunteer in the Global South. Voluntourism has become either a tourist activity in itself or is callously pitched […]

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Nine hottest trends in workplace giving and volunteering

Earlier this fall, Chris Jarvis, Co-founder and Chief Strategy Officer at Realized Worth, and Elizabeth Dove, Director of Corporate Citizenship at Volunteer Canada, hosted a [email protected] webinar on the most exciting emerging trends in workplace giving and volunteering. 1 – Merging all employee community activities To better support what employees see as their individual social responsibility, companies are increasingly combining service, giving, learning, and support for other forms of civic engagement under one umbrella of employee community engagement. This allows employees to choose from a variety of ways to get involved in the community, fosters a holistic, year-round approach to […]

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#ChangeTheTune about the role of volunteer managers

Today is International Volunteer Managers Day (IVMD), a day to recognize the hard working people who make sure volunteer programs run smoothly and volunteers are fulfilled and engaged. To celebrate the 20th anniversary of IVMD, this year’s theme of Change the Tune! encourages people to think differently about volunteer leadership. Here are 10 songs that remind us of the many roles that volunteer managers play. 1 – Career counsellor Volunteer managers help volunteers develop skills and competencies as part of their career development paths. Natasha Bedingfield – Unwritten Live your life with arms wide openToday is where your book beginsThe […]

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