On these pages you will find information about how you can volunteer with IFRC's 186 National Societies around the world and help in their mission to assist the lives of the most vulnerable. The International Federation does not recruit volunteers to work overseas, as it works through its National Societies. The International Federation instead focuses on supporting volunteering development in our member societies.   Visit site

In 2007, an AusAID-funded team of key mental health experts formulated a set of ten key messages to assist communities in China manage children's mental health post disaster. Teachers and community leaders trained when the messages were piloted are currently volunteering in Sichuan and are regarded as 'on-the-ground' experts in psychological first aid for children.  Visit site

A fast-growing middle class with money to spare on travel and, as it now seems, on charity. Thousands of volunteers headed to the disaster zone, from businessmen to Christian youth.   Visit site

On 12 May 2008 an earthquake measuring 7.8 on the Richter scale struck Sichuan province in south-western China. Volunteerism is critical to the relief efforts. Read UNV volunteer Liu Lei's diary of his work with the IFRC here.   Visit site

A newspaper editorial from China highlights the vital contribution of volunteerism in earthquake relief efforts. "They sometimes might appear less than organized. There even were pleas once for them to refrain from entering disaster zones on their own so that professional relief workers had their way. But we cannot afford to imagine what things would have been like were it not for the compassionate involvement of the now-omnipresent volunteers..."  Visit site

Published by Volunteering Australia, this guide is for volunteer managers to help build knowledge about involving people from diverse backgrounds in volunteering program, and help improve volunteering policies and practices.  Visit site

The latest report from the Volunteering and Asylum Project is based on case studies of ten organisations across the UK that are all outside the refugee sector, and that are all successfully involving refugees and asylum seekers as volunteers. The report is for policy makers, volunteer managers and others wanting to encourage and develop diversity in volunteering.  Visit site

Each year, the New Zealand government selects 750 refugees for resettlement. The non-profit organization RMS Refugee Resettlement is the agency which helps them to resettle in their new communities. It operates a unique programme which trains volunteers to work alongside refugees as they begin to settle into their new communities.  Visit site

The Hotline for Migrant Workers is a non-partisan, non-profit organization, working with over 150 volunteers, to promote the rights of undocumented migrant workers and refugees and eliminate trafficking in women in Israel.  Visit site

This reseach, conducted by Working Lives Research Institute and the London Metropolitan University, supports the view that volunteering can assist refugee women

in finding employment, as well as providing important benefits to women who

are not able to undertake paid employment. It also highlights the breadth and depth

of voluntary activities in which refugee women are involved, and the research

report documents the experiences of refugee women as volunteers in a wide

range of organisations and activities.

  Visit site