What is a Volunteer

The independent charity Volunteering England defines ‘volunteering’ as:

‘any activity that involves spending time, unpaid, doing something that aims to benefit the environment or someone (individuals or groups) other than, or in addition to, close relatives.’

‘Volunteer’, therefore, may refer to a wide range of people. Voluntary Arts identifies four broad categories of volunteer, which may not be exhaustive:

committee volunteers: those who serve on boards of management
organising volunteers: those who co-ordinate the work of volunteers
service volunteers: those who contribute to the running of the organisation
process volunteers: those who direct, shape and lead the artistic work of the organisation, e.g. directors, conductors, producers, choreographers, designers, tutors, curators, conservators, promoters, tour guides, etc.

Whatever they do, however, anyone who donates their time freely to an organisation in order to benefit others is a volunteer.