NUMBERS REGISTERING with the Government-funded body Volunteer Centres Ireland (VCI) have increased by 90 per cent this year and one-third of those registering are foreign nationals.
From January to July, 3,814 people contacted VCI expressing the desire to “give something back, make a difference or gain or improve skills” through volunteering for community projects.
That compares with a total of just over 2,000 in the same period in 2007, and far more women are on the register than men.
VCI said that most of its volunteers are under 35 years of age and are generally middle class.
In a parliamentary debate in February, Labour TD Jack Wall said a number of major groups had serious problems recruiting volunteers, while Fine Gael’s Michael Ring claimed people were not volunteering because they were afraid of being sued should an accident happen while they were assisting somebody.
Chief executive of VCI Dr Yvonne McKenna said she believed the “notion that volunteerism is dying is a fallacy” and it’s not the case that everyone is too rich or too tired to volunteer.
One in three people on the VCI’s 2008 register are non-Irish and Nigerians are the leading ethnic group after Irish volunteers. England, America, France and other African nations were also significantly represented by their citizens here.
The main areas of interest expressed by volunteers included youth and children, social work, health and disability, and animals.
The Society of St Vincent de Paul said it has retained its 9,500 volunteers and has a “constant flow of applicants seeking to serve the community”.
Macra Na Feirme said it received nearly 1,500 requests for organisers’ packs from people wishing to lead events for the Know Your Neighbour weekend that was held last month.
That compared with 1,200 requests prior to the same initiative last year, said Macra na Feirme PRO Marguerite Tierney.
Ms McKenna recently told community development magazine Changing Ireland that the relatively high number of non-Irish residents volunteering was notable because some Irish people held negative attitudes towards foreign nationals living here.
VCI said that groups and public events that needed volunteers included a “centre in Donegal that is looking for Polish/English interpreters to help out at parent-teacher meetings in schools and the Dublin Fringe Festival is looking for volunteers to help on their various teams”.