Athens, Greece: Four months after a fire devastated one of the last forests on the outskirts of Athens, Greek volunteers on Sunday planted around 2,000 pine saplings in an initiative backed by the US and British embassies, the agriculture ministry said.  Read article

Researchers analysing the voluntary sector should use their studies to challenge the preconception that volunteering in all its forms is necessarily a good thing, according to the Institute for Volunteering Research.  Read article

Bonn, Germany: The United Nations Volunteers Online Volunteering service today announced the winners of the “Online Volunteering Team of the Year Award”.  The 10 winning teams, comprising online volunteers and their volunteer managers at the host organizations, made an exemplary impact on human development through their efficient online collaboration and commitment to volunteering.  Read article

Harare, Zimbabwe: Zimbabwe has great potential to reduce poverty among communities through promoting and supporting volunteer activities as many of its people are willing to donate their valuable time and resources to assist others, a United Nations representative said.  Read article

Beijing, China: On 1 December, the 20th AIDS Day, Chinese volunteers took an oath to help fight the deadly infection. The rate of new HIV/AIDS infections in China is slowing but the situation remains a very big concern.  Read article

Hong Kong, China: Nearly 700,000 registered volunteers and more than 1,700 registered organizations have committed to volunteering since 1998 in Hong Kong, a city with a population of around 7,000,000, the wife of Hong Kong Chief Executive Selina Tsang said on Saturday.  Read article

Bonn, Germany: To mark the International Volunteer Day (IVD) on 5 December, the Bonn-based United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme is partnering with AIDS-Hilfe Bonn to organize activities on 1,5 and 8 December highlighting the work of volunteers and their contribution to combating HIV/AIDS.  Read article

Basel, Switzerland: The Basel-based Welfare Group for Disability and Sexuality already arranges erotic massages for people with disabilities. But it is now providing full sexual intercourse and is also signing up gay volunteers to have sex with homosexual disabled people. The group's leader Aiha Zemp said it was a subject that "needed to be tackled." She said: "It's a big taboo that needs to be broken. Having sex is a basic human need like eating and drinking and we have to fight for this right for the disabled."  Visit site

California, USA: Throughout November nonprofitshoppingmall.com highlights the spirit of volunteerism by designating US-based volunteer organization Points Of Light & Hands On Network as its default beneficiary.  Read article

Fears of being falsely accused of harming children is the major factor preventing Scots from volunteering, and while 69% of adults consider working with children, only 5% actually do, a report claims today. Concerns over the culture of litigation is also a factor when it comes to working or volunteering with young people, a survey by Scotland's Commissioner for Children and Young People (SCCYP) found. In the poll carried out for the commissioner, 48% of adults said concern about being falsely accused of harming young people is the number one obstacle to becoming a volunteer.  Read article