Doing Some Good - Volunteering With the Red Cross

The Icelandic Red Cross, founded on December 10th, 1924, has served the Icelandic community for nearly 100 years. The organization has long been a leading figure when it comes to healthcare, social care and humanitarian aid, and many of its former projects are now overseen by the government, Iceland’s municipalities and other public officials.

The Icelandic Red Cross’ strategy from 2021 - 2030 includes five focal challenges; climate change, crises and disasters, health, mass migration and marginalization. Their mission revolves around volunteer programs and mobilizes people who want to take active part in changing their environment for the better.

Saba Karanadze Kobasson (he/ him) is one of Red Cross’s almost 3.000 volunteers who studies anthropology at the University of Iceland. He joined the team a year and a half ago, and describes his experience as rewarding and versatile.

“It’s quite flexible, there's never an obligation to volunteer more than twice a month, which is great since most of us work or study. But it’s flexible both ways, so if you have an idea for a project or activity, you have the opportunity to make it happen. The Red Cross also provides humanitarian education and training courses to all volunteers - where we learn how to provide psychosocial support to refugees and perform first aid, among other things.”

The volunteer programs are as many as they are varied; supporting refugees and migrants, language teaching and harm reduction to name a few. As Saba puts it, many of the programs aim to bring people together and support them.

“I’ve mostly been part of social activities for refugees and asylum seekers, as well as organizing sport events. It’s a good thing because a lot of people who’ve just arrived in Iceland are waiting for their application to be processed, and they need something to do, they need to meet people. Youth Club, the project I’m a part of, emphasizes the social aspect of supporting refugees. Our general meetings on Tuesdays are filled with a thousand ideas about what kind of events or activities we want to organize next. We sing, cook, go to the theater, we do fun things - human things.”

The motivation to volunteer differs between people, but the most common reasons tend to be the urge to benefit society, to be part of a worthy issue, and to help people in marginalized positions. 1) Saba says his interest stemmed from his passion for international relations, as well as the pull to contribute to something good.

“Some things exist to uphold human values, and you can contribute to those values by growing something that doesn’t revolve around financial gain. We live in an era of money and interest, but this sort of work makes it clear that capitalism is not the biggest deal in life. I’m interested in diplomatic work and so of course that’s part of my motivation, but beyond that I realized that sometimes, I want to do things in life simply because I want to do them, because they align with my values. If you want to find out more about the world and get to know other cultures, come to Red Cross. It’s an experience that teaches you a lot, both in a professional sense and in a more personal sense.”

Those interested in becoming Red Cross volunteers are encouraged to sign up by scanning the QR-code next to the article. More information about the Icelandic Red Cross’ volunteer programs can be found on their website: raudikrossinn.is.