InternationalMarketing Portugal, a Lisbon-based sales and marketing company, are always
impressed by people volunteering to help the local community. They heard
recently of a website set up one year ago by Cascais Town Hall to encourage
people to volunteer in local initiatives. The site has signed up 158 people,
the majority of whom are aged between 26 and 35 and with university education.
The new website, which according to the town hall “allows
volunteers and initiatives to come together in Cascais municipality” completed
its first anniversary in April.
According to the town hall, the main age group
who have signed up to volunteer through the website are aged 26 to 35 and 65
percent of volunteers have university education, being either students or
currently unemployed. Until the end of last year, 65 percent of volunteers were
women, 71.2 percent of whom had higher education.
“Volunteering is really important in the local
community,” said our source from International Marketing Portugal, “There are
so many worthy causes that can’t afford to employ people, and a lot of people
want to spend their spare time helping these causes.”
“A volunteer isn’t a freelancer or a paid
professional. It is a citizen with training who is given tasks and
responsibilities according to what they can do,” said the town hall.
Social action, education and health are the
preferred areas for volunteers, which coincide with
the needs of the 31 entities signed up to the local volunteer bank.
“More than registering volunteers,
the portal is important as a meeting place between those who are looking for
and those who are offering volunteer services. For this reason the number of
volunteers registered is not anywhere near the total number of volunteers in
Cascais. Many organisations and many volunteers continue to use informal
networks that are identified but not registered on the website” said the town
hall.
Our source from International
Marketing Portugal said, “Volunteering can also be a really useful avenue for
people who may have been out of work for a while, or want to get some valuable
work experience. Employers really love to see a proactive approach in people,
and a willingness to help others.”
Locals who want to volunteer can
register via the website: www.cascaisvoluntario.org.
Once registered, potential
volunteers will receive specific training, before being sent to help
institutions.
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