The Values of Volunteering examines volunteering in detail from a civil society perspective, using empirical data garnered from various sources for countries all over the globe. The contributions in this title deal with a broad spectrum of questions, ranging from the diversity, social and cultural determinants and organizational settings of volunteering, to its possible individual, social, and political effects.

The Values of Volunteering explains not only the differences and similarities in volunteering between countries and the conditions that may be conducive to or hinder volunteering, it also discusses:

-Why people volunteer;

-How volunteers relate to each other and to the people they want to help;

-The ideals volunteers wish to promote;

-The diversity of and developments in volunteering;

-Future trends;

-The relationships between volunteers and between volunteers and clients and organizations;

-And more.

This useful new resource places volunteering in a broader theoretical and empirical framework of value shifts and political democracy.