What is volunteer service?

Volunteer service is the act of offering your time, skills, or labor to help others or improve the community without expecting payment. The American tradition of voluntary association has been a defining feature of civic life since the founding era. Alexis de Tocqueville observed in Democracy in America (1835 and 1840) that Americans of all ages, all conditions, and all dispositions constantly form associations, calling this habit one of the most distinctive features of the new republic.

Modern voluntary service takes many forms. Civic and service clubs such as the Rotary, Lions Club, Kiwanis, and Optimist International coordinate community projects ranging from scholarship programs to disaster relief. Faith-based organizations operate food banks, homeless shelters, and free medical clinics. Youth-serving organizations such as the Boy Scouts of America, Girl Scouts of the United States of America, Big Brothers Big Sisters, and 4-H mentor young people.

National service programs including the Peace Corps, founded in 1961 by President John F. Kennedy and Sargent Shriver, AmeriCorps, established by the National and Community Service Trust Act of 1993 under President Bill Clinton, and Senior Corps engage volunteers in domestic and international service. Disaster response volunteers work with the American Red Cross, founded by Clara Barton in 1881, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency Corps. Habitat for Humanity, founded in 1976 by Millard and Linda Fuller, builds affordable homes with volunteer labor. Cancer support organizations such as the American Cancer Society Road to Recovery and Make-A-Wish Foundation match volunteers with patients and families. Election volunteers serve as poll workers, absentee ballot processors, and voter registration drive participants. School and library volunteers tutor children, lead reading hours, and chaperone field trips.

Volunteers receive no payment, although organizations may reimburse expenses, and federal tax law allows certain volunteer-related expenses to count as charitable contributions under 26 U.S.C. § 170. The Corporation for National and Community Service, an independent federal agency, estimated that more than sixty million Americans volunteered nearly seven billion hours of service in 2018, contributing the equivalent of roughly $167 billion in labor. President George H.W. Bush popularized the phrase a thousand points of light in his 1989 inaugural address to celebrate this tradition, and his successor administrations have continued service initiatives.

Volunteering builds skills, expands social networks, strengthens communities, and contributes to physical and mental health among volunteers themselves. Naturalization candidates often have rich volunteer histories from their countries of origin and many continue service after becoming citizens.