Good afternoon everyone. Before I begin, I would like to thank Mr. Andras Toth and his colleagues at the National Volunteer Center for this kind invitation to speak at this conference. I am honored to be here.

Indeed, in my country volunteerism is a long-established and cherished tradition; it’s part of being an American. As you examine volunteerism in Hungary and in Europe, perhaps it would be useful to understand a bit more about volunteerism in the United States, and how it developed, and its importance today.

American volunteerism can be traced back to the times when the first colonists had to rely on support from each other to survive the harsh conditions in a new land. Neighbors came together to clear land and build houses, barns and churches; farmers came together to help each other harvest crops; women came together for quilting and spinning bees to help each other make clothes and blankets to keep their families warm. Togetherness was vital for survival, and that lesson was learned and remembered by future generations of Americans.

In 1736, for example, Benjamin Franklin founded the first volunteer fire company. During the Revolutionary War, volunteers came together to raise funds for the war effort. The religious rejuvenations during the Great Awakening of the 1830s inspired young people to work through various religious organizations, such as the YMCA. The American Red Cross was established in 1881. Another widely-recognizable charity, the United Way, was established at about the same time in Denver, Colorado.

While most volunteers of the 18th and 19th centuries found their calling through their church, the 20th century is when volunteer organizations really began to flourish. The first example of this was the Rotary Club formed in 1905 in Chicago to help serve communities in need. The organization's dedication to this ideal is best expressed in its motto: Service Above Self.

Soon, America was full of volunteers functioning in every region of the nation, giving others the chance at a better life. The concept of a “soup kitchen”, which provides meals to those in need, was most likely created during the Great Depression.

During World War II, many volunteer organizations went to work supporting both servicemen and civilians in a variety of areas. In the decades after war, volunteerism focused on a different kind of war - one against poverty and inequality.

In 1960, then Senator John F. Kennedy challenged students at the University of Michigan to serve their country in the cause of peace by living and working in developing countries. From that inspiration grew the Peace Corps. Since that time, more than 210,000 volunteers have served in 139 countries to work on issues ranging from AIDS education to information technology and environmental preservation. In fact, President George H.W. Bush announced on July 12, 1989 during a visit to Budapest the establishment of a Peace Corps in Hungary. From 1990 to 1997, more than three hundred Americans taught in Hungarian schools, trained educators, assisted new businesses and worked in environmental centers throughout the country. Two of these volunteers have come back and now actually both of them work in our Embassy.

And, of course, Americans tend to come together most in times of crisis, such as in the days, weeks and months after September 11, 2001. Volunteers came forward to do everything from searching for survivors, to feeding the rescuers, to providing solace to grieving relatives. This was a time when the word "volunteer" became a badge of honor synonymous with "hero."

The outpouring of offers to help clearly demonstrated the reciprocal nature of volunteering. In addition to genuinely wanting to help, many volunteers deeply needed to be doing something constructive and communal for their own well being. We can see the same thing happening right now, in the wake of Hurricane Sandy, as friends, neighbors and even complete strangers help each other clean up and recover from the destruction left in Sandy’s wake.

Let me cite a figure from the Corporation for National and Community Service, just to show how widespread the culture of volunteerism is in the United States, in 2010, 62.8 million adult volunteers worked 8.1 billion hours valued at an estimated $173 billion.

Across the nation, organizations are serving the country’s most vulnerable using fewer and fewer resources. Millions of volunteers devote their time to working with youth through mentoring, tutoring and teaching. Last year, more than one-quarter of volunteers participated in fundraising activities or sold items to raise money for an organization. Almost a quarter of other volunteers collected, prepared, distributed, or served food or contributed hours through general labor or providing transportation.

In my home state of California, almost 7 million residents volunteered 964 million hours of service through or for a nonprofit or community organization in 2010. Service also takes place informally when people work with neighbors to address community issues. In 2010, 7.4 percent of California residents volunteered informally. More than 180,000 Californians participate in national service each year through almost 3000 national service projects and programs, such as Senior Corps, AmeriCorps, Learn and Serve America, and many others.

Volunteers represent an enormous economic force not only in the United States, but worldwide. According to the Johns Hopkins Center for Civil Society Studies, there are about 971 million people volunteering every year across the globe either through organizations or directly to persons outside their household. The powerful force behind volunteering is the inspiration of people to make a positive difference.

Governments around the world are launching civic engagement campaigns, corporations are promoting employee-led initiatives and corporate social responsibility, and NGOs are striving to stimulate volunteerism. Many companies came to realize that these programs enhance their standing, establish links, and provide brand recognition in their communities and populations that are served. At the same time, CSR programs enrich employees with better quality of life and new skills.

Although volunteer service cannot solve all problems, it can definitely address some of them. By engaging in these issues, volunteers help to create a more vibrant democratic society and through service we can begin to address some challenges that are too big for governments alone to cope with.

We can – and should - link different sectors of society in constructive ways and stimulate a culture of service and civic engagement. To that end, our Embassy is proud to support volunteers in Hungary – both individuals and organizations - through small grants, partnering with Hungarian NGOs, and our International Visitors Leadership Program through which we send Hungarians to learn about civic organizations in the United States. We encourage the participants of these programs to stay connected via social networking and continue to exchange ideas and improve the impact of their service. We also spotlight every month an individual or an organization that makes a difference in their community.

I am confident that volunteerism and philanthropy have a great future in Hungary. And I am confident today, as you work together, to examine and understand the culture of volunteerism in Hungary, the challenges that you have and the opportunities to overcome those challenges, that you will make great headway. And I hope, and one of the things I talk about quite often with young people, students and others here in Hungary, is that we’ve learned over many years in the United States that government can’t do everything for us. We have to stand up and do things for ourselves and when you get together with your friends, when you get together with your community to fix and improve the problems that you have at hand that is the best and strongest force to improving your quality of life and creating a better future for you and for your children.

Thank you very much, it was a pleasure being here today and good luck.

Photo: Ambassador Kounalakis delivers her remarks at the conference. (Embassy photo by Attila Németh)

Source: U.S. Embassy Budapest