Taiwan's volunteering movement has gained momentum in recent years as more people are donating their time to help with community activities and government programs, Premier Jiang Yi-huah said at today's Cabinet meeting, where the Ministry of Health and Welfare (MOHW) reported on promoting volunteer services nationwide.
Jiang applauded the volunteers' efforts and requested all ministries and local governments to continue organizing innovative forms of volunteer service programs. In addition, he urged the agencies to harness the compassion of Taiwanese people into various volunteer services so that the resources in the public and private sectors can be connected and optimized to help those in need.
Jiang pointed out that today is World Red Cross Day, a day for countries to celebrate the Red Cross movement and promote humanitarian aid and community service across religious, ethnic and political borders. This spirit of universal love, mutual aid and altruism matches well with Taiwan's ideals for volunteerism, Jiang said. He also expressed special respects and thanks to volunteers around the country.
Aside from retired individuals, people aged 18 to 29 are also very active in volunteering. The premier said this was a welcome trend and hoped all citizens would help others in their spare time and make Taiwan an "island of volunteers."
According to the MOHW, the number of volunteers in Taiwan grew steadily after the Volunteer Service Act took effect in 2001. As of the end of 2013, the number of volunteer services groups carrying out specific objectives under central government agencies reached 24,448, with 1,002,920 volunteers serving more than 99.26 million hours—the equivalent of 47,724 full-time manpower. If they were paid at an hourly rate of NT$115 (US$3.80), their output value would have been NT$11.42 billion (US$377.28 million). They represent society's most valuable resource, MOHW officials said.
The MOHW survey for ministry-level agencies showed that the education sector drew the largest number of volunteers in 2013 at 463,567, followed by health and welfare at 254,860. Since volunteerism is growing around the world, the ministry will not only urge senior citizens to volunteer as a way of staying active, but also strengthen training and management of volunteers to offer better services to communities. Moreover, the ministry will reinforce cooperation and coordination among central and local agencies in order to develop diverse volunteer services and expand public participation.