According to Wikipedia, volunteering is generally considered an altruistic activity and is intended to promote good or improve quality of human life. In return, this activity produces a feeling of self-worth and respect; however, there is no financial gain. I think most of us would agree with this definition. In this blog entry, I will try to let you understand where volunteering finds its roots.

The word actually derives from someone who “offers himself for a military service” by M. Fr. Voluntaire. Later, in 1630, the word was first used in a non-military context. Before the 19th century, there were few  formal charities to assist people in need of help. In 1844, the Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) was started in London, which aims to promote developing a healthy body, mind, and spirit. A few years later, the YWCA was founded. The Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA) is a movement of women working for social and economic change in the world. Currently, the YWCA is based in Geneva, Switzerland.

During the Civil War, women volunteered their time sewing and making supplies for the soldiers.
In the first decades of the 20th century, many volunteer organizations were founded all around the world.
In 1940, 28 cities in America had volunteer bureaus. After World War II, people started to help people not only from their own country but also in neighbouring countries or even overseas. A major organization which did this was the Peace Corps, which was founded in 1960. The U.S. Peace Corps is considered one of the first organizations which had a large focus on what nowadays is called voluntouring (travelling and volunteering).

Between 1960 and 1970, the movement of traveling and volunteering became very popular. Now, a few years later, more than 55 million Americans have participated in a voluntouring program and more than a 100 million would be interested in taking a volunteering vacation. More than 89 million Americans  do volunteer work without traveling.

The words volunteerism or voluntourism are relatively new but the core of what it is has an interesting and extensive history.Tropical Adventures is an organization which has its focus on volunteering and empowers individuals to grow personally and to expand their global vision as they participate in different environmental, cross-cultural and educational projects throughout Costa Rica. If you would like to know more about our projects feel free to check them out on our website, or send an email to bram@tropadvent.org.