ONG Parceiros Voluntários

Parceiros Voluntários prepares people, corporations, schools and universities to improve the quality of life within a community through organized volunteer work, while preparing non-profit organizations to effectively deploy the skills and goodwill of these volunteers. The success of Parceiros Voluntários comes from its capacity to tap into people's desire to participate meaningfully in a community. It cultivates a level of competency in people of all ages and walks of life and teaches leadership skills. It also provides a vehicle for companies to engage in corporate citizenship, sharing the strengths and skills of their staff with civil society.

Parceiros Voluntários also qualifies young people to perform civic service, and supports schools in their efforts to extend this approach to the communities where they are sent. Parceiros Voluntários is not just a coordinator of volunteer activities, volunteer centre or human resource placement agency; by training both the volunteer and the organization that receives the volunteers, it stimulates people of all ages to see themselves as agents of social transformation. In 2010, the organization involved nearly 370,000 volunteers, including 81,000 young people, and 1,945 schools, 2,473 companies and 2,784 civil society organizations.

To replicate its approach throughout Brazil, Parceiros Voluntários is working in collaboration with SEBRAE (Brazilian Service of Support for Micro and Small Enterprises), and in partnership with the IDB (Inter-American Development Bank), to promote professionalism and enhance the credibility and visibility of civil society organizations.