National Volunteer Week – April 21-27, 2024

History of National Volunteer Week

The power to transform lives and our world, in general, is visible at every turn, and the National Volunteer Week raises awareness about the need to beef up volunteer efforts, and preaches the gratifying sense of fulfillment derived through acts of volunteerism. The word ‘Volunteer,’ derived from the late 16th-century French ‘volontaire,’ meaning ‘voluntary,’ was associated with the military: “one who offers himself for military service.” In the 1630s it began to transcend beyond the non-military sense.

The National Volunteer Week officially took root in the U.S. in 1974, many thanks to the 37th U.S. President, Richard Nixon, who established it with an executive order. It has since become a tradition followed by other emerging presidents to date, growing to incorporate different willing participants and featuring a variety of projects and events that span throughout the week. The National Volunteer Week is organized by the U.S. organization — Points of Light Foundation whose mission is “to inspire, equip, and mobilize people to take actions that change the world” and Volunteering Canada — a charity initiative that provides expertise on volunteerism with the lens on increasing participation and quality of volunteer experiences.

The Points of Light Foundation’s formation was inspired by President George H.W. Bush’s January 1989 rousing speech to the nation and volunteers, calling on them to become “a thousand points of light.” The Points of Light Foundation was created in 1990, while Volunteer Canada, established in 1977, draws from the establishment of the National Volunteer Week in 1943 to recognize the contributions of women on the Home Front during World War II. It aims to provide national leadership and expertise on volunteer engagement, to increase the participation, quality, and diversity of volunteer efforts.