In its efforts to ensure protection of child rights, Child Rights and You (CRY) has redefined the meaning of volunteering. The organization has been trying to channel the collective strength of communities by identifying the underlying issues like caste, gender and class bias that children and communities face, and finding long-term solutions.  Visit site

The National Volunteer Service (NVS) is to recruit experienced, retired public and civil servants for national volunteerism. Nana Fosu-Amankwah, Eastern Regional Director of the National Service Scheme, announced this in Koforidua at an assessment and selection exercise of the scheme for the 2008/2009 year.  Visit site

Medics with polio vaccinations pushed into some of Afghanistan's most volatile provinces on the United Nations' Peace Day Sunday, with a Taliban pledge they should not be harmed during the three-day drive. According to the World Health Organisation country representative, about 14,000 health workers and volunteers aimed to deliver vaccinations to 1.85 million children under the age of five in six provinces.  Visit site

Beyond the beaches and luxury resorts is a side of Fiji few tourists know about - Homes of Hope, an organization dedicated to sheltering and protecting women (and their children) who have been forced into prostitution, sexually abused, trafficked and enslaved.   Visit site

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia: There are positive signs that we are entering a new age of volunteerism. National service has been an important means of nation-building in many countries, and there are now unprecedented opportunities for committed and talented individuals to channel their passions and energies toward building a better tomorrow through organisations such as the United Nations Volunteers (UNV).  Read article

Virtual volunteerism, the catchy name for volunteering done online, is all about technology. It is not new, but it is evolving, right along with increasingly sophisticated web and teleconferencing tools. Thanks to the Internet, virtual volunteers can design, consult, teach, mentor, keep the books and provide one-on-one support from just about any computer terminal in any location and they can do so at times that accommodate their individual schedules.  Visit site

On 19-21 September, the 16th Clean Up the World weekend will see millions of volunteers come together in more than 100 countries to clean up the environment. The theme of this year's event is 'Start Today... Save Tomorrow - Clean Up our Climate'.   Visit site

Malta: SOS Malta has launched the SOS Malta Award for Volunteering to recognise the important work carried out by those who volunteer with not-for-profit organizations, charities and NGOs.  Read article

Former Scottish First Minister Jack McConnell, who was recently appointed as British High Commissioner for Malawi, has thrown his full weight behind a drive to get Malawians in diaspora to volunteer back in their homeland.  Visit site

John McCain and Barack Obama found common ground on the virtues of volunteering at a forum on national service that ended a day largely free of the partisan broadsides that will define the presidential campaign.  Visit site