Volunteer Day for Economic and Social Development is celebrated every year on December 5th to honor the efforts of those who engage in volunteer work.
What is volunteer activity?
Volunteering involves the volunteer's participation in public interest activities carried out for the benefit of other individuals or society, organized by public or private legal entities, without remuneration, individually or in groups.
The amazing benefits of volunteering
#5 Time spent volunteering makes you feel like you have more time
According to a study published by the Harvard Business Review in 2012, using free time for the benefit of others makes the volunteer feel that he has more muchfree time and not less. This feeling is similar to that felt by those who donate money and thus feel richer.
#4 Exploiting skills generates the development of new skills
Skills-based volunteering is an excellent opportunity to develop new skills that will help the volunteer advance more easily in their field. Even an article published by the Stanford Social Innovation Review defines skills-based volunteering as "the next training ground for managers."
Additionally, I learned that the development of technical skills and leadership skills is the primary reason corporations invest in skill-based volunteering programs.
#3 The level of physical health is supported by volunteer activities
Research results have shown that volunteering leads to improved health: those who volunteer reduce their mortality rate, increase their functional abilities, and decrease their chances of developing depression over their lifetimes, compared to those who do not volunteer.
With volunteering proven to improve health, getting involved in pr bono activities should be tempting enough already, according to information published by UnitedHealthcare.
#2 Volunteering your expertise in your field helps you gain experience in other fields of activity
We consistently observe professionals from various fields choosing to volunteer their expertise. Additionally, volunteering in an industry you are not familiar with will broaden your horizons and may facilitate a career change.
Furthermore, transitioning from corporate work to work within non-profit organizations can be facilitated by volunteering. In the international job market, volunteer activities included in a CV increase candidates' chances of securing employment.
#1 Developing interpersonal relationships
The link between volunteering and happiness has been evaluated in various studies, which have highlighted that the happiness level of volunteers increases with their involvement in volunteer activities, through the development of empathy and social connections.
#1.1 (bonus for citizens of non-EU countries) Obtaining the right of residence in Romania
As a volunteer in Romania, you must have a volunteer agreement with an NGO. The agreement will include provisions regarding the activities you are to perform, the conditions under which you are supervised in carrying out tasks, as well as information regarding working hours.
The host organization provides accommodation, maintenance, and medical insurance for the entire validity period of the visa, as well as any repatriation costs. You must be over 14 years old, and if the foreigner is a minor, they must have the consent of their parents or legal guardian regarding their stay in Romania for this purpose.
If, except for the social side, through which you return to the community part of the value it has offered you, the arguments above have convinced you to put your acquired skills to social use, you can easily find organizations that need volunteers in the field in which you activate through LinkedIn's For Good.
You should also know that in Romania Law no. 78 of 2014 regulates the volunteering activity and that this activity can only be performed by concluding a mandatory volunteering contract between a natural person and an NGO.
According to the applicable legal framework for volunteering activities in Romania, it is mandatory for the NGO and each of its volunteers to also sign:
(a) Volunteer sheet - you can find a model as Annex no. 1 to the Volunteer Contract,
(b) Volunteer protection sheet
and the NGO to hold and organize:
(c) The internal regulations to establish criteria for evaluating volunteers, and
(d) The register of volunteers.
As a result of the volunteering activity carried out, the NGO is obliged to issue, at the volunteer's request, a volunteer certificate accompanied by a activity report.
Although there are no sanctions provided for non-compliance with the provisions of the law in carrying out volunteer activities in Romania, the risk of sanctions for such non-compliance may arise from labor inspectors.
They can, if the volunteer activity does not meet all the formal and informal conditions prescribed by law, reclassify the volunteer activity as work and consider it as being performed without legal forms, punishable by a contraventional fine ranging from 10,000 lei to 20,000 lei, for each identified person, applicable for the identification of up to five persons, and for the identification of more than 5 persons engaging in volunteer activities without meeting all the conditions required for this type of activity, the act is considered a crime and is punishable by imprisonment from 3 months to 2 years or a criminal fine.
