International Volunteer Year 2026
International Volunteer Year 2026 is an opportunity to celebrate and thank people all around the world who dedicate their precious time and efforts to voluntary service. For the IFRC, it's also about standing in solidarity and demanding that humanitarian volunteers are respected, protected and supported. We celebrate their contributions under the banner of Local, Everywhere – in honour of the critical impact they are making every day, globally and locally.
Celebrate International Volunteer Year 2026 with us!
An Egyptian Red Crescent volunteer spending time with children evacuated from Gaza during a drawing activity, part of the wider support offered to evacuee families in Egypt.
Photo: Egyptian Red Crescent Society
Throughout 2026, the IFRC will join National Societies around the world in recognising the extraordinary contributions of volunteers around the world. We will be amplifying their stories (see below) and renew our shared commitment to ensure volunteers are respected, protected, and supported.
Across the Red Cross and Red Crescent network, volunteers are local, everywhere – the trusted faces of humanity who respond to crises, stand with their communities, and turn local action into global impact. Their voluntary service has been at the heart of our Movement for more than 115 years.
Stay tuned to this page for more information and resources on how to engage in International Volunteer Year 2026 along with us.
Amplifying volunteer stories around the world
Teacher and Myanmar Red Cross volunteer, Honey Thin (center, wearing a beige cap), distributes essential supplies to residents impacted by the recent earthquake in Myanmar.
Photo: Courtesy of Honey Thin/Myanmar Red Cross Society
She’s known as “Teacher Honey”, a nickname that pays tribute to her loving dedication to her students. When devastating floods — and later a massive earthquake — struck Myanmar, she quickly changed hats and began providing urgent, life-saving help to people in need.
Pwavi Sanagon Kushi is a community leader in northern Nigeria and also a proud father. He helps lead a local Papas’ Club, a group of fathers working together and finding solutions to an enduring nutrition crisis.
Meanwhile, in a mountainous region of Afghanistan, a young Red Crescent volunteer named Sharifa provides critical health care in remote communities hard hit by an earthquake.
These are just a few among millions of local volunteers around the world who are saving and changing lives in their communities. While they come from all parts of the globe, they have one thing in common: They are all making a difference directly in the communities where they live.