10 MILLION VOLUNTEER HOURS PROJECT

In 2001, the United Nations General Assembly proclaimed it as the International Year of Volunteers (IYV). The IYV 2001 promoted voluntary service more vigorously, facilitated and recognized volunteer work more enthusiastically, and built stronger networks more widely.

This year marks the tenth year following IYV 2001. How much have Filipino volunteers contributed to development during the past ten years?

There has been no system that documented the volunteering activities through the years. Because of this, the International Association for Volunteer Effort (IAVE) – Philippines launches “IYV+10 Philippine Project: Ten Million Volunteer Hours” to recognize the quantitative contribution of Filipino volunteers for national-local development in the Philippines.

This project looks at the past and the future. It aims (1) to document at least 10 million hours of volunteer work during the past decade, and (2) to initiate the design of a national volunteering agenda for the next decade. It enjoins institutions from the academe, business, non-profit, and government sectors to document its volunteer engagement effort and to set the ways forward for volunteerism in the country.

The results of this first nationwide survey will give credence and added respect to volunteer effort, and clarify the economic impact of volunteers. It imputes the volunteers’ share to Philippine Gross National Product, to the Human Development Indices, to the Millennium Development Goals.

The year 2011 will mobilize many more volunteers, raise the profile of volunteering, and showcase the diversity of volunteering in the Philippines. It is time that volunteering comes again into focus.

	Participating Organizations 1. Kabalikat ng Bayan SSS Volunteer Corporation 2. Jesuit Volunteers Philippine Foundation Inc. 3. Bagong Kulturang Pinoy Foundation Phil... read more »