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Spain: Volunteering with the times
Volunteering takes time. But a brand new Spanish website has revolutionised how much time: Microvolunteers give up minutes, not days, to perform worthwhile tasks for all kinds of NGOs
There are those who do it in office hours. Others on the train, travelling to work or University. And then there are those who do it sitting back comfortably in their business class seats. Sex? Sudoku? Solitarie? No, volunteering.
By minute, not by hour or by day. By task and not by mission. Better, but not necessarily, if armed with a computer. In times of economic crisis and long work hours, when giving up one?s time risks becoming a luxury for the rich and the retired, social commitment goes ?micro?. The copyright belongs to the Spanish foundation, Bip-Bip, who?d Microvoluntarios.org website has created a database of micro volunteer actions. Micro because of the minutes required to carry out the tasks set by NGOs. At the most 120, which is the time required by an environmental NGO to design a campaign advertising an event. At the least 1, 60 seconds is all it takes to forward a fundraising request to your contacts. And in between a whole series of useful tasks that can be carried out by more than one volunteer at a time; whether it is creating a powerpoint presentation or collecting second hand clothes in your apartment block.
And make no mistake, being micro doesn?t make this volunteering any less important ? the 500 Spanish volunteers (mainly 20 to 40 year old professionals) that have joined in the websites first few weeks online swear they are fully satisfied. As far as other micro-commitments, take a look at FreeRice.com: an online word quiz that gives rice to the UN with every correct answer. Since its launch in 2007 FreeRice.com has donated 27 billion grains of rice, distributed to Bangladesh, Uganda and Cambodia.
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