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.
