True, the United States has a voluntary sector with more structure and impact than do other countries. But every country has developed ways in which people help people. By learning what other countries do by volunteer action, we can examine our own beliefs and get new ideas. In addition, though, there is the issue of what we can learn from each other. Over the years, I've come across some intriguing examples of volunteer activity in other countries.
Volunteers maintain some of Ecuador's largest cemeteries.
In Israel, volunteers work with the military to offer bereavement support to families who lose loved ones in armed conflict. In Spain, volunteers provide medical services in prisons. Leaders of volunteers around the globe are making conscious efforts to connect with one another. The increased numbers of conferences and publications in the field of volunteerism reflect this broadened perspective, and occasionally initiate new contacts. The Internet has given us the world on a keyboard, and the impact on volunteerism has been significant.