Itisimpossibletofindoutexactlyhowmanyvolunteers
areatworktodayintheUnitedStates.
areknowntobelongtoorganizationslikethePinkLadies,
Travelers’Aid,orBigBrothers;
orinsmallinformalgroupscannotbecounted.
Thetotalnumberofmenandwomen
whogivetheirtimetohelpothers
appearstobebetweenfiftyandsixty-eightmillion.
theysew,clean,scrub,paint,cook,repairthings,
recordbooksfortheblind,amusesickchildreninhospitals,
orescortseniorcitizenswhodonotwanttogooutalone.
Theygivetheirblood;theyworkinlibrariesandschools;
theytranslatedocumentsfornewcitizenswithalanguageproblem
orraisemoneytosupportlocalsymphonyorchestras;
theyanswerthetelephonecallsofthedesperate
whoarethinkingofkillingthemselves,
andwhoneedafriendlyear.
Volunteersstartcommunityprojects
toosmalltoattracttheattentionoforganizedagencies,
orworkatjobsforwhichnofundsareavailable.
Ahandfulofcityfolkwillturnanemptylotintoaplayground
forthechildrenoftheirneighborhood;
andpaintafewdilapidatedhousesintheirstreet.
Somewhereelsewomencookanddelivertwohotmealsaday
toelderlypeoplelivingalone,
andtoosickortootiredtopreparetheirownfood.
Anothergroupcallslonelyoldpeopleonceaday
tochatalittleandfindoutiftheyareallright.
SomecollegestudentsteachEnglish,
mathematics,ordrawingtotheinmatesofalocaljail.
Youngmenandwomenspendpartoftheirweekends
andbottlesfortherecyclingcenteroftheircommunity,
andsomechildrenpickupthetrashleft
onthebeachbythecrowdofasummerholiday.
Anywhereonelooks,thearmyofvolunteersishardatwork—
notonlyintheUnitedStates,
butinmanyothercountrieswhere“volunteerism”isspreading.