Volunteering among people with disabilities

Abstract

In recent years, an increase in the number of volunteers and volunteer programs has been recorded in Russia. The purpose of the article is to explore the potential for participation of people with disabilities in volunteering practices. The empirical basis of the study is interviews with people with disabilities who have had experience as volunteers. We studied the motivation of volunteers with disabilities and the significance of volunteering for this category of people. The article highlights the benefits provided to organizations that recruit people with disabilities as volunteers, as well as the difficulties that these organizations may face. The relevance of studying the experience of participation of people with disabilities in volunteering practices is due to the fact that volunteering for people with disabilities can be considered not only as a means of rehabilitation and a way of acquiring skills for subsequent employment, but also as an opportunity to provide all possible assistance to others in need, thereby changing paradigm on disability. English version of the article on pp. 396-401 is available at URL: https://panor.ru/articles/volunteering-performed-by-people-with-reduced-capabilities/71486.html