Defining "VOLUNTEERism"

source: http://tinyurl.com/cbehvlr

What actually is “Volunteerism”? The word which is used since 1844 is defined in dictionary.com (our primary source of definitions) as the policy or practice of volunteering one’s time or talents for charitable, educational, or other worthwhile activities, especially in one’s community. This particular definition made me think twice. On one hand, it is not a complete definition as “volunteering” is used to define “volunteerism”. What is volunteering? Who is a Volunteer? On the other hand, I was not quite comfortable with the very last part of the definition; especially in one’s community. Is that actually relevant in defining volunteerism? Does it matter which community I am volunteering in? How is the volunteerism involved in the act of me working in my community different from that of me working in a different community?

As I was not persuaded by the definition, I looked it up on online oxford dictionary which defines "Volunteerism" as the use or involvement of volunteer labor, especially in community services.  This definition seemed to be a better one. Though both of the above definitions does emphasize on ‘community’ service, there is a slight difference in their meanings. The former definition stresses on "one's" community, while the later does not. However, I was not quite satisfied with this definition either as this one seemed to be incomplete as well.

The fact that I am not an expert in this field pulls me back from interpreting and nuancing these definitions beyond a certain extent.

That is when I decided to go a bit deep into the word, to define it by defining its roots – “volunteer” and “ism”. Oxford dictionary defines “volunteer” as a person who does a job willingly without being paid for it and “ism” refers to a set of ideas or system of beliefs or behavior. Putting both of them together, we can read “Volunteerism” as a system of beliefs or behavior related to people who do a job or service willingly without being paid for it.

For the time being, I would prefer this definition over the other two. But, at the same time, I do believe that we might be able to nuance it in a better way after exploring further into the real world of volunteerism. During this journey, feel free to contribute your ideas and interpretations, because the shoot of social knowledge always sprouts out from sharing, interpreting and questioning.