A Billion Volunteers: The Silent Solidarity Keeping the World Alive

Volunteerism is a practice of making invisible visible. It does not only comprise of good will. It is also a collective organization of skills, time, and labor. Volunteerism emerges sometimes in an aid tent following an earthquake, sometimes while doing a science experiment with children at a school, and sometimes when holding the hand of an elderly person. But the essence is always the same: a feeling of connection without expecting anything in return. Today, we will talk about what kind of financial, social, and emotional impacts this connection creates in the world. Because volunteerism is not only “aid” but has become a social infrastructure now.

According to the data of the United Nations, more than 1 billion people participate in volunteerism activities each year. Nearly 70 percent of volunteers make their contributions in an informal way, in other words by directly helping people in their communities. And 30 percent of them volunteer through official organizations. Volunteerism can emerge in numerous ways. Volunteers can contribute to local initiatives, online platforms, and international tasks.

If we feel bad when we look at the world and if our breath is taken away by war news and continuous crises, this figure really helps us out: There is nearly 1 billion volunteers in the world!

In other words, one out of eight people does a kindness to someone else without expecting anything in return. Most of these people do this kindness silently, in their own neighborhood, using their own means. Knocking on someone’s door, delivering a lecture to a child, accompanying an elderly person, cleaning the environment... In short, although the world seems like a dark place, millions of people continue to be the light in this world.

According to the calculations of OECD, the global economic equivalent of volunteers’ labor approaches to a trillion dollars. But its real value is in the part which cannot be measured by money: in rebuilding trust, the feeling of hope and solidarity.

Scientists define volunteerism not only as an ethical behavior, but also as a biological need. According to the 2023 collected works of Harvard Health, helping others increase the secretion of good feeling chemicals in the brain such as serotonin and dopamine, reduces the perception of stress and strengthen mental flexibility. Studies show that individuals who volunteer only a few hours a week feel more optimistic, develop a stronger sense of life purpose and are more protected against loneliness and depression.

Psychologists call this “helper’s high,” i.e., the internal reward of helping. Human brain secretes dopamine and oxytocin when one helps others. And this, in turn, reduces the feelings of anxiety and purposelessness.

However, the impact of volunteering is not limited to individual health. The study titled Volunteerism and the Decline of Violent Crime, published by Northwestern University, shows that social connections strengthen in communities with strong volunteerism networks and this is significantly related to the reduction in violent crimes. In short, volunteerism establishes an invisible bond, keeping the community together, both biologically and sociologically.

In his De Beneficiis written in the 1^st century BC, Seneca says “Doing a good deed glorifies the one who does the deed more than the one who receives.” After more than two millennia, this sentence is still valid. When we help someone, we do not only open a door in their life, but we also expand internally. Goodness makes us more patient, more resistant and more hopeful. When the world feels heavy, even a small kindness becomes an action that lightens the soul. Because kindness is always good for the person who does it.

So, how can volunteerism go from being an individual goodness to a social infrastructure? The answer to this question lies in volunteerism being not limited to only “helping.”

Volunteerism seems like a small deed that starts mostly with the goodwill of an individual. But from a social perspective, it is one of the invisible infrastructures of cities. Like roads, bridges and energy lines that keep the city alive, volunteerism creates a network that carries social bonds. This network creates communities which take the first action in moments of crisis and strengthens trust, solidarity, and mutual responsibility. Volunteerism that increases at the level of neighborhood supports social control mechanisms and common wellbeing. Therefore, volunteerism is not only a behavior, but also an infrastructure investment that enables communities to be more resistant, more trustful, and more harmonious.

In different countries worldwide, volunteerism has become one of the most effective but least talked about means of social transformation. From Japan to the Netherlands, cities in many countries started to organize volunteering networks as a public service in fields such as preparedness to disasters, elderly care, youth programs, and protection of the environment. These models reveals the capacity of the community in dealing with social problems which cannot be solved by the state alone. And in Türkiye, the civil solidarity seen after earthquakes is one of the most powerful examples of how volunteerism operates as a “social infrastructure” in the moments of crises. Expanding youth volunteer movements, local initiatives and solidarity networks increase the capacity of the community to heal itself. Volunteerism creates the foundation of a society which is stronger, more resistant, and more bonded, in a silent but consistent manner, in Türkiye as well as in the world.

Geert Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions Model is one of the most comprehensive frameworks that is used to understand the values of societies, and analyzes different cultural tendencies, from power distance and avoiding uncertainty to individualism and long-term trends. Individualism-collectivism, as one of these dimensions, explains at what scale people in a society see themselves as independent individuals or as members of a group. In collectivist societies, the sense of belonging, mutual support, protecting the relationship and communal harmony are more prioritized than individual interests. Türkiye shows prominent collectivist features in this dimension. Our family and close circle bonds are strong, social relations are at the center of life and people feel a natural responsibility for one another. In other words, ‘volunteerism’ is in the DNA of our culture.

Volunteerism in Türkiye is not only an individual good deed, but it can also become a practice in the communities that is taught and promoted within themselves. The social solidarity that emerge especially in the moments of crises strongly reveals the powerful cultural tendency towards volunteerism in the collectivist structure of Türkiye. People see helping as a natural extension of social bonds.

Volunteerism in Türkiye extends from being a helping practice to a new language of building communities. Although the foundations of traditional solidarity culture are strong, volunteerism today is being re-shaped as a more organized, more conscious, and more comprehensive social force. Initiatives led by the youth, neighborhood-based solidarity networks, civil mobilization in moments of disasters and support movements expanding through digital platforms create a new culture of “collective working” in Türkiye. This transformation enables help to go from being a momentary action to a sustainable community bond. Volunteerism is not only a reflex that kicks in when needed, but also a social infrastructure in which people connect to each other, build trust, and create the common good together.

Volunteerism in Türkiye has changed in recent years in terms of its shape as well as its depth. The solidarity networks that emerged after 2023 earthquakes showed that volunteerism is not only distributing aid, but also an effort to rebuild communities. People acted without waiting for the bureaucracy; they organized on social media, drew maps, collected data, and went on the field. This rapid reflex represents a breaking point in civil volunteerism in Türkiye.

One of the examples that emerged in this period is Ahbap. It brought a new form of trust into volunteerism with its transparent reporting model, open resource management, and horizontal organization structure. The network which reached more than 350,000 volunteers in a brief period of time established a “platform ecosystem” for the solidarity created after the disaster to be sustainable. The success of Ahbap lies in redefining volunteerism as not only aid, but also through data, information, and coordination.

Another promising initiative is Hatay Surfing Center. Hatay Surfing Center is an initiative that contributes to the healing of community by providing surfing training for young people at Samandağ coasts, established under the leadership of volunteers following 2023 earthquakes. It acts not only as a sports area for young people in the region between the ages of 13 and 16, but it also establishes a meeting point that provides psychosocial support, the feeling of trust and belonging. In its first year, approximately 1,000 young people and their families benefited from the activities of the center; the bond established with the sea strengthened the feeling of hope for young people after loss and trauma and supported them in re-establishing bonds with life. Programs led by volunteering trainers, together with surfing leadership, community activities and creative workshops, show how the solidarity in Hatay can turn into a community-building means in a concrete manner; it provides a powerful example for how a collective movement can create a new life even in the middle of destruction.

The common aspect of these examples is this: volunteerism is not only a “response to crisis,” but also a collective capacity-building. Each of these examples represents another form of self-healing reflex of society. And each shows a cultural transformation of volunteerism in Türkiye; from feeling to institution, from momentary actions to a structure.

So how does this work in practice?

Team Rubicon: Skill-based disaster volunteerism

Volunteerism across the world now goes beyond the concept of “aid,” it becomes a new social resilience model. One of the most prominent examples of this transformation is Team Rubicon. This initiative, which started by retired soldiers who came together in 2010 in the USA, is active in more than 700 communities now, from Australia to the Philippines. Volunteers, who received professional training, provide not only aid, but also coordination, psychological support, and infrastructure repair. According to the 2024 data, they have reached 2.9 million people. The secret to their success lies in their transforming volunteerism from a reflex to a citizenship practice based on skills. This is critical to make volunteerism permanent: from an intent to a responsibility based on competency.

Ruanda “Umuganda”: Monthly social remedy ritual

Another example is Umuganda model, which shows how volunteerism can transform the identity of community in a permanent manner. In Ruanda, on the last Saturday of each month, people go out to streets across the country, cleaning the streets, repairing schools, planting trees, and organizing neighborhood meetings. This volunteerism ritual, which has been ongoing since 1995, is not only a “state policy” but has become almost a national reflex. These events participated by citizens from every age group and every income group enable restoration of not only public spaces, but also social trust. According to the studies, citizens residing in the regions where Umuganda is practiced has 25% higher trust in the local government; they also have stronger neighbor relations. The success of this model lies in establishing volunteerism on the basis of continuity and ownership. People do not only participate in aiding activities, but they also remember that they are part of a community every month.

Solidarity Network in Health: Britain’s NHS Volunteer Responders Program

Another impressive example is NHS Volunteer Responders which was launched during the period of the pandemic. Britain’s National Healthcare Service (NHS) established an army of volunteers in just a few weeks in order to prevent the healthcare system from collapsing in 2020. 750,000 people registered in the program in only 48 hours. This was a speed that was unprecedented in the history of the country. Hundreds of micro-tasks were defined, from carrying medicine to elderly and providing moral support to lonely individuals by phone to organizing doctor appointments and carrying medical materials.

The strongest aspect of this model was its ability in making volunteerism accessible. There was no obstacle preventing participation: Even a task of a few minutes was considered valuable. Volunteers were matched with people in need through the application; the system received feedback when the task was completed, and the experience of both the volunteer and the recipient was measured. This example shows how volunteerism can be made sustainable when it is a system which can “be institutionalized following a crisis.”

All these examples from the world and Türkiye point to a common picture that is required for volunteerism to be permanent.

1. Skill-based task matching: Not everyone can do everything; the right person should be directed to the right task at the right moment.
2. Local ownership: Volunteer’s intervention should be from the inside rather than outside; the community should be included in decision-making processes.
3. Low threshold, high impact: The combination of micro-tasks and contributions of a few minutes democratizes participation in the systems.
4. Ritualized continuity: Not one-off but rather repeated participation creates permanent belonging.
5. Transparency and accountability: Trust cannot be sustained without open data, reporting and measurement.
6. Scaling with technology: Digital platforms makes empathy accessible, but without forgetting the essence, i.e., human connection.
7. Double-sided benefit: Volunteerism should be beneficial for both supporting and supported parties; it should create mutual empowerment rather than one-sided sacrifice.
   

These seven principles lay the foundations for volunteerism to transform from a random action to a permanent social mechanism.

Of course, volunteerism is not only a field that should be talked about with praise. As seen in the examples of increasingly popular “voluntourism” (volunteering tourism), short-term well-intentioned aids can harm local communities in the long term. Similarly, corporate “PR volunteerism” poses another risk: Some brands transform volunteerism to a “reputation campaign” rather than a sincere social responsibility.

These criticisms reminds us of this: Volunteerism should be fair. Volunteerism is an empowering tool where there is labor, representation and continuity. If these are lacking, it can turn into an emotional showcasing. Volunteerism should not replace the responsibilities of the state or institutions; it should be complementary to those. Otherwise, the system can normalize inequality that is sustained by good deeds.

Volunteerism is not only a “leisure activity” in its old sense anymore. New generation volunteers use their knowledge and skills for social transformation: Engineers create crisis maps, law professionals organize women’s right workshops, teachers create content on online education platforms. Digital age liberated volunteerism from geographical locations, but it did not rid it of emotions: The search for meaning is still at the center.

The volunteerism of the future can be defined as “Solidarity 3.0.” In other words, transition from individual aid to a re-structuring. At this stage, volunteerism acts not as a response to crises, but as an infrastructure preventing crises. Urban gardens open-source information networks, mentorship systems, energy cooperatives... All of these have the same essence: collective production, collective healing.

Communities have the capacity of self-healing, just like nature. Volunteerism is the visible form of this capacity. When experienced not as one-off aid but as a lifetime habit, when it is transformed from a project to a culture, it becomes permanent. As Seneca says in De Beneficiis, “Good deed is the moment in which the soul recognizes its own virtue.” Volunteerism is transformative exactly for this reason. Each person who does not calculate when giving, who does the deed for love, establishes an invisible bridge in their own inner world as well as in the community they belong to.

Perhaps the power of a community is measured not by how many people it is comprised of, but how many people lend a helping hand to those in need.