Days Until International Volunteer Day

About International Volunteer Day

A 1985 General Assembly resolution created the December 5 observance, providing an opportunity for volunteer organizations and individual volunteers to promote their contributions to development goals at local, national, and international levels.

The observance is coordinated internationally through the UN Volunteers programme, recognizing volunteer contributions across humanitarian, development, and peacebuilding work worldwide.

The UN Volunteers programme estimates hundreds of millions of people volunteer formally each year worldwide, a scale of unpaid civic contribution the day is designed to recognize and encourage.

The observance is deliberately scheduled two weeks before Human Rights Day on the UN calendar, part of a broader annual cluster of UN observances addressing civic participation and human dignity in early December.

UN Volunteers, the programme coordinating the day, deploys volunteers directly into UN peacekeeping and development operations worldwide, distinguishing it from purely domestic or community-level volunteer organizations.