I wrote this article late during this period, mainly because we in Chaoyang District, Beijing, were also locked at home, and my husband worked at home, so I had to watch the children and not disturb him, so it was delayed for a few days. During the closure period, since you are not allowed to go out, volunteer "Dabai" will help deliver supplies to the door. I am really grateful to these volunteers, because during the days of lockdown, we did not need to worry about not being able to buy food, and our lives were basically guaranteed.
The word "volunteer" comes from the Latin "voluntas", which means "will". The English name is "volunteer", and its connotation is richer than the Latin word. Due to differences in history, culture, politics, etc., different countries or regions have different definitions of volunteers.
Volunteer service originated in Europe and has a history of hundreds of years. Initially, volunteer service was limited to humanitarian aid during the war. With the development of the times, volunteer service activities are becoming more and more popular around the world. And it has broad and rich connotation.
Volunteers working during the epidemic understand that
The spirit of the strong in the West comes from the ancient Western concept of charity. During the ancient Greek and ancient Roman periods, the concept of "charity" with "fraternity" and "helping others" as its main content appeared. "Charitable" behavior includes personal donations to public affairs and public goods. The ancient Roman jurist, orator and poet Cicero put forward a fairly complete theory of charity.
Cicero distinguished the types of voluntary behavior for the first time in history: "There are two ways of showing kindness, one is service, the other is giving money." This is very close to our division of volunteer methods today: donating time and labor, or donations of money and materials.
Volunteer service organizations in the modern sense appeared in the early 20th century. In 1920, a team of volunteers, including Australians, British, French, Germans and Swiss, rebuilt a village near Verdun that had been destroyed in the First World War. 1 million people. It marked the rise of the modern volunteer service movement. With the spread and promotion of volunteer services in Europe, a number of volunteer service organizations such as Civil Service International (SCI) were established. Volunteer service organizations quickly attracted a large number of young men and women to carry out volunteer activities, thus attracting This kicked off the youth volunteer activities. Later, various Western countries successively established volunteer service organizations, which promoted the development of youth volunteer activities and played an important role.
As volunteer action in the modern sense sprouted in the UK, volunteer action in the West flourished. After experiencing the expansion stage at the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century and the standardization stage after the " World War II ", Western volunteer action gradually formed a relatively complete set of operating systems and spiritual systems, and through the development of humanitarian self-help and mutual aid services to protect citizens’ rights, make up for the shortcomings of government services, promote social and economic development and improve social welfare.
In Western countries, many civil organizations were formed before government organizations. People are used to helping each other and solving problems together in voluntary organizations. People who have difficulties and problems are generally reluctant to turn to government organizations for fear of bureaucracy. At the same time, because the market cannot effectively handle the distribution of public goods, non-market mechanisms need to be established to solve the supply of public goods. The decline of national status. In Western democratic societies, governments are often accompanied by bloated, irresponsible and bureaucratic. People are more willing to accept services provided by non-governmental organizations. Volunteer organizations embody the social values of freedom and diversity. Government services are relatively simple and conservative, while volunteer community services are constantly seeking innovation and change to meet the needs of the public. Voluntary organizations are a mechanism of social unity and integration. The power of individuals is very weak. Voluntary organizations can effectively unite and integrate the power of individuals and play a role of aggregation. Based on the above reasons, volunteer service is very popular in the West.
A typical British workhouse in the 19th century
Volunteer activities in our country were generally carried out in the 1990s.In December 1993, the Youth League Central Committee launched the "China Youth Volunteer Action" to the society, and in December 1994, the China Youth Volunteers Association was established. These marked the gradual formalization and formalization of the China Youth Volunteers activities. Organized and standardized track. In March 2002, the Central Committee of the Communist Youth League and the China Youth Volunteers Association promulgated the "Registration and Management Measures for Chinese Youth Volunteers (Trial)", and a relatively stable backbone of volunteers is gradually forming.
Although my country's youth volunteer activities have just started in the early 1990s, the Chinese people's concept of charity has existed since ancient times.
Charitable behavior has a long tradition in China. The hunger and cold relief measures implemented during the Shangtang period, such as "feeding the hungry, clothing the cold, and cheering up the unworthy," can probably be regarded as the origin of charity in ancient China. Although there were ups and downs in the following thousands of years, all dynasties nominally emphasized helping the widowed, widowed, lonely, poor, sick and disabled people. For example, in the Song Dynasty, there was the "Policy of Supporting the Elderly Salesians". In the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, private charity gradually developed. Charitable activities hosted by civil society have become more active, showing a prosperous scene. During this period, the number of charitable halls and associations increased rapidly, there were many types of charitable institutions, and the contents of charitable activities were rich, which had a positive impact on social production and social order.
Lei Feng’s spirit also provides an inexhaustible source and motivation for the development of contemporary China’s volunteer spirit. At the end of 1993, the Central Committee of the Communist Youth League launched youth volunteer service activities nationwide on the basis of summarizing the "Learn from Lei Feng" activities and learning from the experience of foreign volunteer activities. On February 4, 1994, the "Notice on Carrying out the "Young Volunteers Learn from Lei Feng and Dedication Day"" was issued, which further promoted the activities of young volunteers learning from Lei Feng and making contributions. In 2000, the Communist Youth League Central Committee designated March 5th as the "Chinese Youth Volunteer Day", which is the annual "Learning from Lei Feng Day", organically combining youth volunteer actions and learning from Lei Feng activities.
In public welfare undertakings, in addition to volunteers, we also know social workers and volunteers. So what are the similarities and differences between them and volunteers? Why is it called volunteer Dabai instead of social worker Dabai or volunteer Dabai?
Social work has two meanings. One is social work, which is the abbreviation of social work. It refers to professional and professional activities that are non-profit and serve others and society. In the international community, such activities are also known as social services or social welfare services. Because countries and regions have different economic and social structures, different specific problems, and different methods of solving problems, people's expressions of the connotation of social work are also different. The International Federation of Social Workers conducted a global survey in the 1990s and found that the definitions of social work in various countries are similar. We can say that social work is a professional activity that uses professional methods to help people or groups in difficulty get out of trouble within a certain social welfare system framework.
Social work is a professional process of helping people: helping the poor, the old and the weak, physically disabled, mentally rehabilitated and other unfortunate people; preventing and solving some of the problems that may cause difficulties in life for some people or those who are poor due to illness or social problems. universality. Professional social work is to carry out community services, improve social functions, improve and promote the level of social welfare and the quality of social life, achieve harmony between individuals and society, and promote social stability and development. Social work in our country not only includes social welfare, social insurance and social services, but also includes social transformation work such as changing customs.
Another meaning of social workers refers to people who engage in social work. They follow the value concept of helping others to help themselves, and use professional social work knowledge and methods to provide professional social services to individuals, families, institutions, and communities in need, and to help them develop their talents. Professionals who have their own potential, coordinate social relations, solve and prevent social problems, and promote social justice as their main professional activities.
Volunteerism originated from religious charity services in Western countries in the 19th century. It has existed and developed in the world for more than 100 years. Its essence is to serve the society, and its core spirit is "voluntariness, altruism, and no compensation."Therefore, volunteers refer to people and groups of people who provide services to improve society and contribute their personal time, energy and personal technical expertise based on morality, belief, conscience, compassion and responsibility, regardless of material rewards. Volunteers mainly serve vulnerable groups in need of help, such as the elderly, the disabled, orphans, etc.
The United Nations defines volunteers as "people who do not do it for profit, money, or fame, but for the sake of their neighbors and even the world." It refers to someone who can take the initiative to assume social responsibilities without receiving any material reward without caring about remuneration. People who dedicate their time and energy.
According to the specific situation in China, volunteers are defined as follows: voluntarily participating in relevant groups and organizations, and rationally utilizing existing social resources, as long as their own conditions permit, without seeking any material, monetary or related benefits in return. People who use resources, volunteer what they can contribute, and carry out practical, professional, and long-term service activities within their capabilities to help people in certain needs.
html In the 1990s, young volunteers established service teams to serve passengers on trains
Compared with volunteers who do not seek any material, monetary or related benefits in return, social workers are paid; while volunteers give their time free of charge , energy, money, etc. Social workers have professional knowledge and techniques, such as case social work , such as listening techniques, etc.; and volunteers engaged in public welfare undertakings sometimes require certain methods and techniques, such as medical staff. But in general, social work is a profession-specific professional knowledge and technology, which is different from other professions.
Social workers must follow strict professional ethics and values, while volunteers must also follow social ethics and values, but they are not as strict and professional as social workers and need to have professional qualifications. These ethics and values must be adhered to as a social worker, and their regulations are also very strict. Sometimes they even conflict with each other or with the overall values of society.
Professor Chen Wuxiong, a sociology expert from Taiwan, discussed in his book "Volunteer Service Concept and Practice": "Volunteers (volunteers), as the name suggests, are voluntary work, while volunteers are voluntary work, so the difference between the two is: First, Voluntary work is something you 'will do', while voluntary work is something you 'should do'. The former belongs to the category of morality and has no binding force; second, voluntary work is a 'service' and has no restrictions, while voluntary work is a 'responsibility' and should be limited. ; In the former, the relationship between giving and taking does not have to be reciprocal, and there should be no disputes over rights and obligations; in the latter, the relationship between giving and taking is an act of exchange, which is an obligation and of course should also enjoy rights. "
In 1979, the first batch of United Nations volunteers. Come to remote areas of China to engage in volunteer service in the fields of environment, health, computers and languages. In the mid-1980s, the Ministry of Civil Affairs called for the promotion of community volunteer services. In 1994, the China Youth Volunteers Association was established. China's volunteer cause is gradually developing, and the team of Chinese volunteers is also growing. With love and enthusiasm, volunteers are increasingly involved in education and culture, traffic safety, environmental protection, health care, economic development, security maintenance, science and technology. Promote the development of various public undertakings in various public services such as research, sports and leisure. At the same time, Chinese volunteers have begun to appear frequently on the world stage.
Reference materials: "Research on Social Mobilization of Youth Volunteers in the Transition Period" Chen Chen; "Social Organization Laws, Regulations and Policies" Wang Shiqiang; "Charity and Public Welfare" Ruan Jianfang; "Management of Community Voluntary Organizations" Dong Wenqi.
