Togliatti Students Promote Volunteerism in Their Community

Despite historic unpopularity, volunteerism in Russia has recently been on the rise, particularly among youth. More young Russians today are looking for ways to make a contribution to their society, and volunteerism has become a regular phenomenon in schools and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) across Russia, creating pockets of active citizenry in their communities.

According to World Volunteer Web, although fewer than two percent of Russians actually volunteer, over 40 percent express an interest in doing so. Thus, the key to developing a viable volunteer movement in Russia is to transform those willing to volunteer into those actually volunteering. On May 4, the Association of Studying Youth (AUM) and several of its partner organizations addressed this issue by conducting a Volunteer Fair in Togliatti, educating people about the benefits of volunteering and bringing together those interested in becoming volunteers with those offering volunteer opportunities.

After hosting American volunteer Brian Seifipour through the US-Russia Volunteer Initiative (USRVI) in the autumn of 2006, AUM was awarded a grant for its project “Free Will.” The Volunteer Fair was a component of this project and sought to contribute to the development of a volunteer movement in the city of Togliatti, in the Samara region. The event featured over 40 local NGOs and was attended by over a thousand people, including representatives of nonprofit organizations, businesses, government institutions, school and university students, and local citizens. The fair educated leaders of local NGOs about the benefits of incorporating volunteers into their programs, provided exposure to the work of local NGOs, and promoted volunteerism by educating Russian government and local communities about the social benefits of volunteering. The event included press conferences and lectures on the history of volunteer development, recruitment and motivation of volunteers, as well as effective methods of using volunteers by nonprofit organizations. It enabled interested citizens to apply for volunteer opportunities (each visitor received a volunteer application at the beginning of the event). The Volunteer Fair also provided an opportunity for participating NGOs to network and develop long-term collaborative relationships with each other.

By educating the population about the benefits of volunteering and by bringing together people interested in volunteer opportunities with organizations providing such opportunities, events such as the Volunteer Fair are helping to break down social barriers to volunteerism and contribute to the development of a sustainable volunteer movement in Russia.