Understanding spontaneous volunteering in crisis
Towards a Needs-Based Approach of Explanation
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 6011224 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Zheng Yang (0000-0003-4275-0590, California State University System, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Volume | 62 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 28-38 |
| Publication date | 2025-01-02 |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | The Social Science Journal (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0362-3319 • E-ISSN: 1873-5355 |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/03623319.2021.1884778 |
| OpenAlex | W3133533129 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 9 |
| References cited | 26 |
Despite the fast growth of informal, episodic, and individualistic style of volunteering, most existing volunteering literature has been driven by the traditional model of volunteering with less focus on informal volunteers’ psychological needs and experiences. This paper presents a case of spontaneous volunteering in North America where volunteers self-organized to collect and transport oversea charitable donations to support Wuhan hospitals at the outbreak of COVID-19. Based on the Volunteer Process Model and thematic coding analysis, this study examines the antecedents, experiences, and consequences of spontaneous volunteering with a focus to understand volunteers’ psychological needs, experiences, and perceptions in the volunteer process. Findings from this study reveal a major theme of self-helping motivation through engaging in other-helping endeavors during crisis time. The paper calls for more attention to assess and understand the psychological needs of volunteers in time of crisis, and how such needs may drive or influence volunteering experience and volunteering consequences
Business · Focus group · Individualism · Perception · Political science · Public relations · Qualitative research · Sociology · Thematic analysis · Nonprofit Sector and Volunteering · Psychology · Religion, Society, and Development · Social Psychology · Tourism, Volunteerism, and Development · Marketing
Understanding the role of self-organizations in disaster relief during Covid-19
Challenges for Formal Organizations Engaging Volunteers During Regular and Crisis Times According to Polish and Italian Volunteer Coordinators
Overlapping Functions
Volunteering in Transition
Self-Organization Response in a Crisis
Willingness to Financially Support the Healthcare System
Volunteering Trajectories and the Covid-19 Pandemic
Volunteering trajectories across crises
Digital Proficiency and Psychological Well-Being in Online Learning
Motivations to Volunteer and Their Associations With Volunteers’ Well-Being
A review of informal volunteerism in emergencies and disasters
Collective and Reflexive Styles of Volunteering
Organizational Factors Affecting Volunteers
Volunteerism
Why Do They Do It? A Qualitative Interpretive Meta-Synthesis of Crisis Volunteers' Motivations
The Give and Take of Volunteering
Emergent groups and spontaneous volunteers in urban disaster response
Volunteerism
Using thematic analysis in psychology
Navigating Theories of Volunteering
Citizenship and Civic Engagement
Volunteering
| Citations per year | 1.8 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2021 - 2026 (6) |
| Highly cited | No |