A new web site has been opened in Poland, bringing together those who want to get involved in voluntary or charitable work.

Poles who want to help or support other people or animals or change their environment at a grassroots level as volunteers have a site which will tell them where their services are badly needed.

Organized under the patronage of the Polish-American Foundation, the website e-wolontariat.pl is a response to the emergence of a new and powerful movement of volunteers mobilized thanks to the internet.

The charity social networking site enables people from all parts of the world, be it small villages or big cities, to  join global as well as local projects, says Pawel Lukasiak from the Charity development Academy in Poland.

The organizers say that volunteering is a service to society as much as a means of personal growth and fulfillment.

Thanks to e-volunteers virtual museums, art galleries and educational portals are created. They give impact to campaigns for the rights of political prisoners and people who are victims of discrimination. (kk)