ItisimpossibletofindoutexactlyhowmanyvolunteersareatworktodayintheUnitedStates.
Thirty-sevenmillionorsoareknowntobelongtoorganizationslikethePinkLadies,Travelers'Aid,orBigBrothers;butthosewhoworkaloneorinsmallinformalgroupscannotbecounted.
Thetotalnumberofmenandwomenwhogivetheirtimetohelpothersappearstobebetweenfiftyandsixty-eightmillion.
Theydoalmostanything:theysew,clean,scrub,paint,cook,repairthings,recordbooksfortheblind,amusesickchildreninhospitals,orescortseniorcitizenswhodonotwanttogooutalone.
Theygivetheirblood;theyworkinlibrariesandschools;theytranslatedocumentsfornewcitizenswithalanguageproblemorraisemoneytosupportlocalsymphonyorchestras;theyanswerthetelephonecallsofthedesperatewhoarethinkingofkillingthemselves,andwhoneedafriendlyear.
Volunteersstartcommunityprojectstoosmalltoattracttheattentionoforganizedagencies,orworkatjobsforwhichnofundsareavailable.
Ahandfulofcityfolkwillturnanemptylotintoaplaygroundforthechildrenoftheirneighborhood;othersdecidetorepairandpaintafewdilapidatedhousesintheirstreet.
Somewhereelsewomencookanddelivertwohotmealsadaytoelderlypeoplelivingalone,andtoosickortootiredtopreparetheirownfood.
Anothergroupcallslonelyoldpeopleonceadaytochatalittleandfindoutiftheyareallright.
SomecollegestudentsteachEnglish,mathematics,ordrawingtotheinmatesofalocaljail.
Youngmenandwomenspendpartoftheirweekendscollectingemptycansandbottlesfortherecyclingcenteroftheircommunity,andsomechildrenpickupthetrashleftonthebeachbythecrowdofasummerholiday.
Anywhereonelooks,thearmyofvolunteersishardatwork—notonlyintheUnitedStates,butinmanyothercountrieswhere“volunteerism”isspreading.