London, UK: Volunteering is increasingly centred on the volunteers' benefits according to an online survey released by Volunteering England (VE), the national development agency for volunteering in the UK.  Read article

Toronto, Canada: A coalition of international service organizations in Canada is calling on returned overseas volunteers to join a new movement called Global Citizens for Change and fight poverty at home.  Read article

Nassau, Bahamas: A foreigner doing volunteer work was allegedly arrested by Bahamas Immigration because she did not have a permit to do that type of service in The Bahamas.   Read article

More than 61 million Americans donated their time to charity last year, the lowest number of volunteers in four years, according to new data from the US federal government.  Read article

Singapore City, Singapore: The Singapore Commissioner of Charities (CoC) has said tightened charity registration will not discourage the spirit of volunteerism. Nine in 10 Singaporeans support stricter charity and volunteering rules.   Read article

Hawaii, USA: The American Red Cross Hawaii state has mandated background checks for volunteers nationwide, including board members, after accusations of impropriety among volunteers surfaced in the aftermath of Katrina. The new rule is unprecedented for one of the nation's most well-known charities, and officials of the Hawaii chapter are concerned that the organization will lose some of its 2,000 local volunteers over the issue.  Read article

Perth, Australia: Australian Premier Alan Carpenter seek tax breaks for emergency service volunteers. He said there was no doubt that the work of emergency service volunteers was highly regarded and admired by governments at all levels and the wider Australian community.  Read article

London, UK: The pressures of getting on the property ladder and holding on to a good job are preventing professionals in their 30s and 40s from taking time out to volunteer in developing countries.  Read article

Dublin, Ireland: Ireland today launched the Rapid Response Corps programme to fill gaps in emergency disaster relief and calls on highly skilled professionals to volunteer for humanitarian operations in "challenging" situations.   Read article

Udon Thani, Thailand: Watch out, the "Bird Flu Busters" are on their way.  These are children dressed as chickens marched through the streets of Thailand chanting slogans and waving banners bearing simple facts on how to prevent the spread of avian influenza.  Read article