WHAT IS MEANT BY "VOLUNTEER" ?
When
considering who is a volunteer, the following descriptions spring to
mind:
Someone who does not expect or receive any payment in cash or
kind for the work they do.
Someone who does not just hang around doing
whatever they think needs doing, but rather who does a specified task
that a non-profit organisation needs doing
Someone who is not being
forced to do the task, but does so willingly.
Definition: A volunteer
is someone who, willingly and without receiving any payment, does a
specified task that needs doing for a non-profit organisation. (Reference:
Making Volunteering Work by M. Williams)
WHAT TASKS DO FAMSA VOLUNTEERS DO ?
FAMSA
volunteers do a range of different tasks. These include: Life skills'
facilitation, mainly targeting the youth Lay and professional counselling
Awareness raising programmes, addressing important issues such as gender
based violence and HIV/AIDS Management tasks such as being on the management
committee of the society Offering professional expertise (e.g. auditing,
legal advice) Administrative and/or fund-raising tasks such as organising
a specific event.
WHY DO PEOPLE VOLUNTEER ?
'It's a
joy to volunteer I've been blessed with gifts and talents to be used
some special way. To lend a hand or help someone who's struggling day
to day. All it costs is my commitment and a little extra caring, while
making a priority of reaching out and sharing'. And it's a privilege
working for the causes I hold dear, Just doing what I can to help each
time I volunteer. Anonymous There are many reasons for people volunteering
their services, and a volunteer should be aware of his or her personal
motivation. Many of the FAMSA volunteers are unemployed persons. For
example, FAMSA Grahamstown targets unemployed matriculants to facilitate
the life skills programme. One of the main attractions of volunteering
for FAMSA is the training that the volunteers undertake (such as the
Basic Counselling Course).
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