Volunteering is an activity performed by people of various ages who freely devote their time, knowledge, experience, and energy to the benefit of society without receiving monetary compensation. Volunteering can be small-scale, such as helping out at a one-day event, or larger-scale, where several hours of free time are devoted to it each week or even every day.
What is a volunteer?
If you ask people around you what a volunteer is, you will hear similar answers that it is a person who performs various activities of their own free will. However, you help your family, friends, and strangers on the street of your own free will, and ultimately, you take care of your health and leisure time without anyone forcing you to do so, but can you call yourself a volunteer?
There are two conditions for becoming a volunteer: the person must be determined to devote their time to society and its needs without expecting any financial reward, and secondly, the person must find another person or organization that needs the help of a volunteer.
To understand more clearly what a volunteer is and how they differ from other people, such as those working in an organization, take a look at the table below:
VOLUNTEER
INTERN
MEMBER
EMPLOYEE
MOTIVATION
Willingness to perform specific tasks
Complete the internship assigned by the educational institution
Have the opportunity to participate in the organization’s activities
Work for an agreed salary
RESPONSABILITY
Partially responsible for a specific task
Responsible for achieving learning objectives
Responsible for participation in common affairs and representation
Fully responsible for the tasks assigned to him
TIME
As long as it takes to complete the committed work
As much as the educational institution has planned
Duration according to membership fee rules or other requirements
As agreed with the employer
ROLE
Helps the organization carry out its activities
Learn by getting involved
Participates and cares about the future of the organization
Full responsibility for activities carried out
Voluntary Activities Act
On August 1, 2011, the Law on Voluntary Activities came into force, adopted by the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania on June 22, 2011, during the European Year of Voluntary Activities tour events in Vilnius. According to the law, the following requirements are set for volunteers:
Citizens of the Republic of Lithuania and foreigners legally residing in the territory of the Republic of Lithuania who are over 14 years of age may become volunteers.
Persons under 18 years of age may participate in voluntary activities if their legal representative does not object.
Volunteers are not required to have any qualifications, except for voluntary activities that require special qualifications in accordance with other legal acts or the requirements of the organizers of voluntary activities.
Depending on the nature of the activity, volunteers may be subject to other requirements set out in legislation governing specific areas.
Voluntary activity agreement
One of the duties of the volunteer activity organizer is to conclude a volunteer activity agreement with the volunteer if:
expenses related to volunteer activities are compensated;
one of the parties wishes to conclude an agreement.
The agreement may specify the duration and timing of the voluntary activity, compensation for expenses, and other conditions.
It is important to note that the agreement may be terminated at any time by mutual consent.
Additional points when applying to higher education institutions
Have you heard that you can get extra points in the competitive admission process to Lithuanian higher education institutions for voluntary work? Participants in long-term international volunteer activities, youth volunteer service programs, and young people who have completed compulsory military service will be able to benefit not only from the experience gained, but also from formal recognition!
You can earn 0.25 additional competitive points if:
You had participated in international voluntary activities for 3 months or more under the Erasmus+ and European Solidarity Corps programs;
You had volunteered for at least 6 months and at least 40 hours per month in the Youth Voluntary Service.
At the time of admission, you must submit documents proving your volunteer work: „Youthpass“ certificate or Youth Voluntary Service certificate in the LAMA BPO information system, following the instructions provided there.
The Youthpass certificate is issued by Erasmus+ Youth and European Solidarity Corps project operators. Youth Voluntary Service Certificate – Youth affairs agency.
You will be eligible for an additional 0.5 points if you have completed compulsory military service.
The Conference of Rectors of Lithuanian Universities has decided that during the admission process, individuals who have completed basic military training or nine months of compulsory initial military service will receive half a point added to their competitive score when applying to any university study program.
Additional points for academic achievements:
Prize places in international Olympiads and competitions. Only 10 wins in Olympiads and competitions in grades II-IV of gymnasium are evaluated. For the same subject Olympiad or competition, the score (maximum) is counted only once, while additional points for different subjects are added up. Value: gold medal (1st place) – 2.5 points; silver medal (2nd place) – 1.5 points; bronze medal (3rd place) – 1 point.
Prize-winning places in national Olympiads and competitions. Only 10 achievements in gymnasium II-IV Olympiads and competitions are evaluated. For the same subject Olympiad or competition, the point (maximum) is counted only once, while additional points awarded for different subjects are added up. Value: gold medal (1st place) – 1.5 points; silver medal (2nd place) – 1 point; bronze medal (3rd place) – 0.5 points.
For those enrolling in university or college study programs and who have completed vocational training programs in the same field of education with honors. Value: 1 point.
For applicants to university music study programs. Value: 0.15 x A, where A is the grade received in the school leaving examination in musicology.
The procedure for compiling the competition ranking list, approved by the Minister of Education, Science and Sport, can be found here.
