IVD is an excellent opportunity to give people the 'big picture' about volunteerism, promote specific volunteering initiatives, and/or launch new ones. Below are some ideas to spark your interest; click here for more ideas

Click here for tips on planning for IVD

If you have even more ideas we can add, please send them to us at info@worldvolunteerweb.org

Environmental sustainability

• Organize community greening initiatives for re-vegetation, tree planting, weeding, collecting and potting seedlings.
• Coordinate events where people transform unused community land into vegetable gardens.
• Invite environmental professionals to give hands-on lectures on healthy gardening or land use.
• Gather volunteers to clean up beaches, rivers, parks, nature reserves and public streets.
• Organize lectures on how to recycle waste and save energy and water.

Gender equality and health for mothers and children

• Organize workshops to increase the awareness of teachers on gender equality and educational rights.
• Ask midwives, gynaecologists and paediatricians to voluntarily provide free medical check-ups and/or free vaccinations for pregnant women and young children.
• Ask health workers to voluntarily educate pregnant women and mothers with young children on proper hygiene, nutrition and child care.
• Organize awareness campaigns on birth control.
• Encourage the media to discuss women’s and children’s health.

Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other preventable diseases

• Ask health workers to voluntarily give first aid training, or raise awareness on hygiene and sanitation
• Support, promote or start up a volunteer hotline or counselling service.
• Organize a blood donation.
• Build latrines and/or improve sewage systems in rural/urban poor communities.
• Prevent malaria by distributing mosquito nets.
• Organize discussion forums in rural areas, inviting HIV/AIDS specialists to discuss the disease and HIV-infected people to talk about their plight.
• Initiate vocational training for community health workers on how to deal with people with HIV/AIDS.

Share ideas around the world

Send information, photos and videos about activities in your country to info@worldvolunteerweb.org and we will publish it on this website. Please include 'IVD (country name)' in the subject line of your emails; send photos as .jpeg files and keep written materials below 300 words.