Washington, D.C., USA: Relief organizations largely say that right now, money donations are needed more than additional aid volunteers.

“It’s a bit of a tough one for impromptu volunteers to enter into the fold,” says Richard Muffley, spokesman for the Center for International Disaster Information (CIDI) in Washington. Unsolicited volunteers may not have the needed training from aid organizations and will still need to be fed and housed once in a disaster zone, he says. “Cash is truly the most economical and efficient way of making a contribution.”

But Mr. Muffley and other aid organizations also say there are still opportunities to be hands-on with Haiti earthquake relief – which, they note, will continue long after the shock the quake triggered this week.

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Miramar, USA:

The reports, photos and televised coverage of the disaster caused by Tuesday's 7.0 earthquake in Haiti has caused many people around the world to seek ways to help. While some people want to donate money, other people want to donate their time and expertise to help.

But anyone desiring to go to Haiti to help with disaster relief efforts would probably be better off contacting a relief agency rather than try to go there on their own.

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New Delhi, India: We need a new volunteerism... The old volunteerism was based upon charity. The new volunteerism is based on building a community whose values are shared equally.  Visit site

One piece of advice given to the newly laid off is to seek volunteer work, but finding the right volunteer job can sometimes seem as difficult as obtaining a salaried position. The good news is that once you decide what you may be interested in, the Web has numerous resources.  Visit site

To mark IVD this year, the Association of Voluntary Service Organizations — a European network of voluntary service organizations based in Brussels — launched the 'Invisible Heroes' campaign to collect as many photos of serving volunteers for one year. The campaign is aimed at demonstrating the magnitude of voluntary service in Europe, and convincing key decision makers to give the issue more attention.   Visit site