Helping people to play giant draughts is just one of the innovative projects to come out of last year's International Year of Volunteers. Sylvia Thompson reports.

Ahomework club in Mountmellick, Co Laois where people help primary-school children on a weekly basis, Samaritans on the streets of Dublin after midnight, wardens in the Wicklow Mountains who guide and educate walkers on taking care of the landscape and a cancer support service in Greystones, Co Wicklow.

These are some examples of 89 volunteer projects highlighted in the brochure, Volunteering - a different view on life, which will be launched today by the National Committee on Volunteering. Others include groups of asylum seekers and Irish people working together on environmental projects in counties Wicklow and Waterford and the training of older volunteers in radio skills in Raidio Corca Baiscinn/South West Clare Community Radio in Kilkee, Co Clare. All projects were grant-aided from a total fund of approximately €437,500 during last year's International Year of the Volunteer.

Helen Lahert, national co-ordinator of the National Committee on Volunteering, says the award scheme brought a greater awareness of the work done by volunteers. "It has increased awareness of the importance of volunteering to the whole basis of democracy, citizenship and community," she says. "It has also raised our understanding about how deep the issue of volunteering goes and how active citizenship can make such a difference to a community." The level of interest in the grants from all sizes of organisations was huge, she says.

"In the first few weeks, we had over 1,000 phone queries. In the end, we had 500 written applications from which we chose the final 89 projects. The main criterion for selection was that the work funded would last beyond the year."

Lahert believes that voluntary work, by its nature is different from paid work. "Very often, a voluntary group sees a gap in services and fills that gap or enhances a service which is already there. In other cases, such as voluntary work in the environmental area, the work challenges the status quo and the volunteers are passionate about the work for that very reason. And it's often work that might not get done otherwise."

So what difference has the Year of the Volunteer made? The Irish Times visited one of the more innovative projects funded last year: the creation of a lifesize draughts game in the grounds of the Ardeen Cheshire Home in Shillelagh, Co Wicklow.

The setting of the Ardeen Cheshire Home is inspiring in itself. The formidable 19th-century main house was once part of the Coolattin Estate and the self-catering units of the residents offer wonderful views of the Wicklow hills, some of the remainder of the famous oak trees of Coolattin (whose timber has been used in such places as Trinity College Dublin and Westminster Abbey) with the beautiful village of Shillelagh nestled below.

The idea for the creation of a lifesize outdoor draughts board came about for a number of reasons, says Jarlath Tunny, manager at Ardeen Cheshire Home. "Draughts is a simple game to play with international appeal, which is important because most of our volunteers come from abroad. The positioning of the game on the front lawn [with a wide path leading down to it] means that the residents, many of whom are in wheelchairs, can use the space. And there already was a tradition of playing draughts among some of the older residents."

Bertie Munroe, a 57-year-old resident with cerebral palsy, demonstrates how he manoeuvres his battery-operated wheelchair around the new board, moving the giant-size draught pieces from one square to another.

"I enjoy playing draughts as I used to play at home," says Munroe although he has a few criticisms about the finer specifications of the draughts themselves. "The handles need to be higher up for many of the residents and the wheels need to be bigger so the pieces don't fall over," explains Munroe. He is looking forward to the planned draughts tournaments with other Cheshire Homes.

The board, which is made from limestone patio slabs together with the oak draught pieces on wheels were made by art student, John Morris from Ferns, Co Wexford. Some of the current group of volunteers at Ardeen watch Munroe's demonstration, keen to find out the rules of this game. The warm sunshine draws some more enthusiasts to the deck which surrounds the draughts board.

Linda Bakria (20) from Paris, France, is volunteering at Ardeen as part of her training to be a nurse's aid back home. Stephen Zill (19) from Oldenburg, Germany, is spending a year in Ardeen to fulfil his social service commitment (as an alternative to doing military service in Germany). "I came here because I wanted to explore Ireland and get to know the people and the landscape. The work here is co-operative, as it is more about helping people with their personal needs."

Debashish Kundu (25) is a medical student from India, studying in Moscow. He is currently on his third stint as a volunteer in Ardeen. "The work I do here is to provide assistance to people in daily living and I cover the nurses' station when needed. I think the draughts board will be great as the movements required will be a kind of natural physiotherapy. Psychologically, the playfulness of it will recharge the residents," says Kundu.

In this time of high employment, with long commutes to work, it is often said that people no longer have time to do voluntary work and many of the larger charities have been noticing a fall-off in the numbers of volunteers. Although acknowledging the fact that many people have less time to volunteer, Helen Lahert points to the changing desires of those who volunteer. "There is a move more towards local community development work which empowers people in local areas."

This switch from the older paternalistic model of giving to the newer, more empowering style of assisting individuals to do things for themselves is evident in the voluntary projects detailed in the new brochure. In such a process, volunteering itself becomes a much more formative and challenging activity rather than a series of benevolent tasks the recipients of which must forever be thankful.

Volunteering - a different view of life is available free from the National Committee on Volunteering, 44 North Great George's Street, Dublin. Tel: 01-8146104. E-mail: ncv@comhairle.ie