ANALYSIS
When we focus on the needs of others, we may also reap benefits ourselves. It means that voluntary
activity in the community is associated with better health, lower crime, improved educational
performance and greater life satisfaction.
So in countries like Macedonia, much needs to be
done if volunteerism is to catch stride. Although
there are no comprehensive data on volunteers in the
country, during the making of Macedonia’s National
Strategy on Volunteerism that was published in 2010
by the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy, it was
noted that “there is a general lack of knowledge in
the public about the benefits from volunteerism”
that generally depresses the perceived value of such
activities. Also, a 2006 survey5 that served as part of
the development of the country's National Strategy
on Volunteering showed that one out of three people
are willing to volunteer, but that only 10% of respondents said they have any kind of formal or informal
volunteering experience. 44% of respondents said
that they simply had no time, while 34% argued that
“volunteering is a form of misuse of labor and should
be paid.”
While volunteering is not exclusive to wealthy societies, the practice does seem to be somewhat correlated to financial well-being. This is demonstrated
by the fact that volunteer rates dropped somewhat
in response to the global economic downturn (about
1.1.%). This is logical since we know that people with
higher incomes are more likely to seek opportunities for self-expression, rather than focus on simply surviving. But it would seem that opportunities
for volunteers in economically depressed regions
could benefit the most from relatively small volunteer contributions that would make everyday life for
the local community better. It is also more necessary,
since the gaps left by State institutions are greater in
these societies.
yet. There are very few volunteers among the working class and senior citizens. Working people here
generally feel they are too busy for volunteering.
However, practice elsewhere has shown that volunteers can and do come from all social backgrounds
and ages. You could be unemployed and still contribute a great deal to your community. After all, isn’t
direct social engagement of community members
the best and most logical way to solve local problems? ” asks Kusinikova.
Companies are often the driving force behind volunteerism, Kusinikova says. “If more companies
here could follow world trends and allow or even
encourage their employees to volunteer once per
week or month, it would make a great difference in
our society,” she says. “And companies would reap
the benefits, as well, since they would have a happier, more productive an