International : Volunteer Day

VOLUNTEERS MAKE SCOUTING POSSIBLE

International Volunteer Day is December 5th each year and is officially recognized by the United Nations as a day on which volunteers around the world are recognized and celebrated for their contributions and dedication.

On this day we want to thank the more than 3 million adult volunteers in Scouting: those who work directly with young girls and boys, and those who support Scouting in so many other capacities at all levels. Without them, there would be no Scouting!

With the support of volunteers, Scouts are helping to make a better, more peaceful, world. In speaking of service to others, Scouting's Founder Robert Baden-Powell wrote:

" Two courses lie open to every man - self or service. He has to choose for himself which is to be his real motive. Self is the more comfortable; service involves sacrifice. If a fellow is not capable of sacrifice he should not call himself a man. But where he practices it the better to express his love, let him be assured that life will be to him a very real and happy posession."

In 1985, the United Nations General Assembly designated 5 December as an annual celebration of voluntary action by people, communities and governments of the world. International Volunteer Day (IVD) is for volunteers of all walks of life working in communities around the globe. The United Nations Volunteers programme (UNV) is the designated international focal point for IVD. More information is available on their interactive web site www.worldvolunteerweb.org

Eduardo Missoni
Secretary General
World Organization of the Scout Movement