Arab Volunteer Day: Giving That Creates Impact and Strengthens Community Partnership

The Arab world celebrates Arab Volunteer Day on September 15 of each year, an occasion that highlights the value of volunteer work and its role in promoting a culture of giving, initiative, and social responsibility, while reinforcing the participation of individuals and institutions in serving their communities. The Arab Federation for Volunteer Work has designated this day as an annual event to affirm the importance of volunteering as one of the pathways for community participation and human development.

In Kuwait, volunteer work represents an important component of the charitable and social sector’s progress, embodying values of solidarity, cooperation, and human service. There is a growing need to develop volunteer work to make it more organized and impactful, and to harness the energy and expertise of youth in serving society.

Saad Marzouq Al-Otaibi, President of the Federation of Charitable Societies and Orphanages, affirmed that Arab Volunteer Day embodies a deeply rooted value in Arab societies. He emphasized that giving is not limited to providing money, but also includes time, effort, expertise, and knowledge, noting that volunteers are true partners in serving the community and enhancing its capacity to meet its needs and challenges.

Al-Otaibi stated that Kuwait’s charitable sector possesses a significant reserve of volunteer initiatives, and that the coming phase requires strengthening this role by organizing volunteer energies and developing work tools, ensuring optimal utilization of the capabilities of individuals, youth, and those with diverse expertise and specializations.

He added that institutional volunteering represents an important pathway for elevating charitable work, as it enables transforming the desire to give into organized efforts with clear objectives, integrated with official, civil, and charitable institutions. This contributes to unifying efforts, avoiding duplication, and maximizing impact.

He pointed out that youth are a fundamental pillar in the future of volunteer work, emphasizing the importance of involving them in initiatives, idea generation, and responsibility-taking, rather than treating them merely as executors. Instead, they should be seen as partners capable of offering new solutions and ideas that serve society.

Al-Otaibi stressed that honoring volunteers is honoring the value of giving itself, but more importantly, it is about sustaining this culture and transforming it into a social practice. He noted that Kuwait, with its substantial human and charitable reserves, needs to continue investing in volunteer human capital and developing the volunteer work system to enhance its standing in the field of charitable and humanitarian work.

Abdulrahman Al-Shatti, Director of Public Relations and Media at the Al-Isalah Social Reform Association, said that Arab Volunteer Day represents an opportunity to reiterate that volunteer work is not merely an additional activity in a person’s life, but an educational and social value that contributes to building character and enhancing the sense of responsibility toward others and society.

Al-Shatti explained that volunteering teaches values that cannot be acquired through words alone, such as cooperation, discipline, initiative, respect for others, and responsibility-taking. He emphasized that involving youth and adolescents in volunteer activities gives them a real opportunity to translate these values into daily practice and behavior.

He noted that community institutions bear an important responsibility in providing safe and organized spaces for youth to practice volunteering, allowing them to find areas that match their interests and capabilities, whether in social, educational, humanitarian, cultural, or organizational fields.

He added that volunteering also strengthens relationships among community members. When individuals participate in serving others, they become closer to their community’s needs and more aware of the challenges facing different segments, thereby enhancing the spirit of solidarity, belonging, and shared responsibility.

Al-Shatti affirmed that Al-Isalah Social Reform Association views human development as a central pillar of community work, and that volunteering represents one of the important means of shaping a positive and effective personality. He called for consolidating the culture of volunteering among new generations so that giving becomes a continuous practice and a deeply rooted social culture.

Khalid Mubarak Al-Shammari, Head of the Programs and Initiatives Sector at Namaa Charitable, stated that Arab Volunteer Day represents an important occasion to recall the value of volunteering as one of the forms of human giving. He noted that volunteers offer not only their time and effort, but also part of their expertise and capabilities to serve others and contribute to addressing community needs.

Al-Shammari said that volunteer work constitutes a fundamental source for charitable work, especially when it evolves from mere individual participation to organized institutional practice based on identifying needs, setting priorities, and directing energies toward areas that achieve real impact. He explained that charitable institutions have an opportunity to leverage volunteer energies across various humanitarian and developmental fields.

He added that volunteering in charitable work is not limited to field participation, but extends to multiple areas including professional, media, technical, and organizational specialties, opening the door for a wide segment of society to participate according to their capabilities and expertise.

He clarified that youth are an important element in the future of volunteer work due to their energy, ideas, and innovative capacity. He emphasized the importance of providing an attractive and organized volunteer environment that gives youth the opportunity to take initiative and responsibility, linking their energies with community needs.

Al-Shammari stressed that honoring volunteers should not stop at appreciating their contributions, but should extend to measuring the impact of their efforts on the lives of beneficiaries and society. He underscored that the value of volunteering increases when time and effort translate into tangible and sustainable impact.