And then of course we have 200,000 paid staff supporting their work and in some cases running hospitals and other institutions. When the Red Cross and Red Crescent is mentioned, people mostly think of volunteers running with stretchers or distributing food. But this is just a small window into our work. Our volunteers are engaged in youth programmes, first aid, ambulances, mountain rescue, telephone help-lines, disaster preparedness, disaster response, support for refugees, health campaigns, advocacy and myriad other specialised programs for vulnerable people. Every year we serve more than 200 million vulnerable people.
Volunteer work is different from paid work.
It has its own special qualities. This often makes a big difference for the beneficiary. Volunteers work part-time. Most people only volunteer a few hours a week. So volunteering can be combined with any occupation.