Belgian volunteers appear to be in many ways different from those elsewhere. There is a strong civic dimension to the volunteering they carry out, with a lot of community development, advocacy and campaigning work, taking place mostly with local voluntary organisations or statutory ones. Visiting and befriending is common, while serving on committees is less so than elsewhere in Europe. Many volunteers get involved through membership of organisations, or through the church and religious bodies. More women are involved than men - unlike most of Europe.
Belgian volunteers take a brisk and pragmatic approach to their volunteering.
They say they do it because they have the time, or are good at it, and in order to learn new skills. But they sometimes feel it takes too much of their time, and feel social pressure to volunteer. The perceived benefits are social standing, and staying active and healthy. Along with this, the feeling is quite strong that voluntary work wouldn't be necessary if government fulfilled its responsibilities, so many volunteers feel they have to volunteer to compensate for shortfalls in statutory provision. The church similarly provides a common channel into unpaid work.