Awakening the power of informal volunteering – an exploratory approach

In emergency or disaster scenarios, ordinary citizens are frequently the first on the scene. This means that informal citizens’ solidarity movements often play an active role in providing help and relief and can deliver the much-needed assistance. We identified 102 informal volunteer initiatives that emerged during the COVID-19 pandemic context in Portugal based on traditional media, neighborhood announcements, and online platforms and media. We identify five types of initiatives (support regarding basic goods, support regarding mental health and well-being, support with protective and health equipment, support to schooling, and COVID-19-specific measures), then we proceed to classify the six types of target beneficiaries (health and care professionals, patients – infected or isolated people, schools, local businesses, the general public), and finally we analyze the data in the light of learning lessons in the volunteering field. The data shows both the prominence of online platforms in building like-minded and capable networks and the fact that proximity to the emergency situation seems to contribute to increasing informal volunteering. Despite the massive increase in the number of volunteers and social economy organizations and their growing importance, this chapter argues that informal volunteering has been understudied, and therefore furthering the knowledge on this field represents valuable insights for the future.