PRACTICE OF INTERCULTURAL VOLUNTEERING AND HOW IT CHANGED DUE TO THE PANDEMIC

The meaning of the word "volunteer" has been changed throughout world history many times, according to the functions the volunteer performed. In the XVII century this word appeared almost at once in the number of European countries, including Italy, Germany, France and England, and was used to name a soldier who went to the army by his own willing. Nowadays, more and more interest is being shown towards volunteering activities. According to the research carried out by the Higher School of Economics, in Russia volunteering is done by only 8 % of the population, while on the ria.ru it is said that in Ireland 33 % are volunteers.Volunteering is considered to be a great opportunity for students to explore local culture and language. The number of programs is organised for those who want to work abroad for free. However, it has become more difficult to cross borders since the case of coronavirus occurred. The vaccine needs to be made, and Sputnik V is not accepted everywhere.Even though current pandemic situation might prevent students and many other people from going to a certain country, it is worth mentioning that there are various kinds of valuable volunteer work that people can do without even leaving their homes. For example, some people who have the resources are reported to be donating to different nonprofit organisations or charities which are fighting the spread of the virus and others serve as crisis counselors on a hotline service or even assist in grant writing.At the present time, there is a lack of recent global estimates which provide information about the number of people who are participating in volunteering activities. Nevertheless, some sources suggest that people's interest in volunteering increased around the world in March and April 2020. The highest values of the Google search index for the word “volunteering” in different languages were registered exactly during those two months when the pandemic was at the peak.