Volunteers and volunteerism are critical to the successful execution of the 2030 Agenda and the goal of eradicating poverty and fostering prosperity. The goal of eradicating poverty and fostering wealth can not be realized without the participation of millions of volunteers who are properly encouraged and equipped.
Additionally, they assist in expanding the reach of a variety of volunteers to SDG-related programs. When properly supported, volunteering allows some of the poorest, most marginalized, or most vulnerable populations to have access to services in health, education, and many other sectors, ensuring that no one is left behind.
Volunteering makes a significant contribution to long-term development. Volunteers and the people they engage with have a mutual awareness of each other’s experiences, abilities, and networks, allowing them to produce locally owned and sustainable solutions. Volunteers help to build long-term, culturally and contextually relevant, respectful, effective, and sustainable capacity.
However, volunteers facilitate the interchange of skills and knowledge, particularly in the areas of appropriate development, good governance, and civil society, as well as on more personal and philosophical levels between volunteers and their host organizations and communities.
Besides that, this strategy has the potential to bridge the gap between ‘hard’ development results, such as higher enrollment in secondary schools, and softer development outcomes, such as enhanced individual participation and influence in decision-making processes. Volunteers in sustainable development goals contribute to the development of interpersonal trust. Softer outcomes are what can make growth more sustainable. As a civic engagement tool, it taps into people’s creativity to address the issues of sustainable development and is a fundamental driver of good change, based on the principles of solidarity, cooperation, and mutual accountability.
Why Do Volunteers Matter to Sustainable Development Goals?
The SDGs will be achieved through the global, national, and local efforts of governments, nonprofit organizations, and volunteers. Some volunteers will be interested in learning how their effort — such as assembling hygiene kits, mentoring a child, or preparing tax returns for a low-income worker – contributes to global change.
Here are some examples of benefits for individuals while also contributing to volunteering for sustainable development goals :
- Volunteering helps people grow or improve their ownership and knowledge of challenging difficulties, and it encourages collective action and attitude improvements in many global concerns.
- Volunteering can help create and bridge social capital by increasing trust among disparate groups.
- Working together to achieve a common objective can assist to break down societal and cultural boundaries and foster cohesiveness.
- Volunteering fosters resilience and readiness through boosting knowledge and a sense of responsibility for one’s community.
- Volunteering helps you develop skills in a variety of areas and increases your employability, knowledge, and experience.
- Volunteering also makes a financial contribution to society. The financial value of volunteering is estimated to be four dollars for every dollar spent.
The Final Word
However, it can be the aid in expansion and mobilization of constituencies, as well as the participation of citizens in national planning and implementation of volunteer to sustainable development goals. Besides that, volunteer groups can also help to localize the new agenda by creating new spaces for governments and citizens to communicate.
