In years past, celebrities worked with charities as basic spokespeople, simply showing up to sound studios to record public service announcements, or giving large donations to disaster relief agencies by signing checks from their living rooms.  Read article

December 5th was International Volunteers Day and Kenya was not left behind in marking this important day. Several Volunteer Involving Organizations (VIO) came together to demonstrate the spirit of volunteerism and educate the public on various aspects of volunteerism.  Read article

Dili, Timor-Leste: The winners of an essay competition on the theme of volunteerism were awarded prizes by President José Ramos-Horta and Special Representative of the Secretary-General (SRSG) Atul Khare at a ceremony held at UNMIT Headquarters on 5 December, International Volunteer Day.  Read article

Vratza, Bulgaria: Bulgaria marks today the International Volunteer Day with various events throughout the country. The Bulgarian Red Cross will mark the day for a 22nd time.  Read article

International Volunteer Day 2007 in Burkina Faso involves participation of volunteers from all corners of the country in Bobo-Dioulasso, Tenkodogo, Diébougou, Houndé, Boulsa, Dori and from the capital city Ouagadougou. Activities are initiated by UNV volunteers, national volunteers, youth associations and academic institutions.

Programmes include theatre, a football match between volunteers and journalists, blood donation for hospitals, food distribution to the needy, cleaning the environment, conferences and meetings about volunteer action and civic commitment. In Ouagadougou, IVD is marked by a public conference at the House of the People. Youth is strongly involved in IVD activities at Ouagadougou’s University and Data Processing and Management Institute (ISIG) where volunteers hold information stands to sensitize visitors on the spirit of volunteerism. Others share training in data processing at the capital’s Prison or go to hospitals and talk to patients, especially those living with HIV/AIDS. (In French)  Read article

Sofia, Bulgaria: Bulgaria marks today the International Volunteer Day with various events throughout the country including distributing leaflets in the capital Sofia.  Read article

Marking the International Volunteer Day, United Nations officials on Wednesday paid tribute to millions of people around the world who contribute their time and efforts to help tackle some of the world's most pressing challenges, from reducing poverty to addressing climate change, and whose efforts often go unrecognised.  Read article

In its role of promoting, supporting and strengthening the development of volunteering worldwide, the International Association of Volunteer Effort (IAVE) -- and its diverse membership around the globe -- celebrated International Volunteer Day (IVD) in a variety of ways.   Read article

Brussels, Belgium: To mark the International Volunteer Day, the Association of Voluntary Service Organisations (AVSO) launched the European “Invisible Heroes” campaign to collect as many photos of serving volunteers for one year. The campaign kicks off on the IVD 2007 until 5 December 2008.  Read article

Almaty, Kazakhstan: The focus of the IVD for 2007 in Kazakhstan will be the contribution of the local volunteers to the country development: "Local volunteers – our heroes!". At the same time, to quote former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, "Volunteerism is the ultimate expression of what the United Nations is all about", the celebration of IVD will also a moment of contact between the UN and the people of Kazakhstan.  Read article