VOLUNTEERING IN HEALTH AND LOCAL AUTHORITY: A CASE STUDY OF THE VOLUNTARY SOCIAL HEALTH CLINIC OF THE MUNICIPALITY OF PAVLOS MELAS (GREECE)

In contemporary Greece of recent financial crisis, a significant number of charity actions have taken place, among which is the initiative of the voluntary social clinic of the Municipality of PavlosMelas, Thessaloniki. The present paper aims to illustrate the voluntary action in the medical and dental sector through the example of the aforementioned social clinic. This voluntary clinic was especially established so as to provide health benefits to financially disadvantaged patients by its specialized medical, nursing and other staff. Anyway, the fact remains that the Municipality, as a Local Authority body, offers a variety of social benefits to its residents, one of which is the rather significant field of volunteering. Voluntary action, as the ardent nexus of social responsibility and solidarity, seeks to alleviate human pain and resolve the numerous issues anticipated by the local community. Theoretical views emphasize that volunteering is directly related to the notion of participation, without any financial gain, aspiring to promote safety, care and well-being of our fellow humans. In any case, volunteering incentives (should be) ideological, ethical, social, while bearing an emotional investment, of a particular lifestyle and support to our fellow humans and clearly far from any kind of financial and material profit.