comes from the Latin "voluntas," meaning "free will" or "deliberate choice." A volunteer is someone who makes a deliberate choice, freely and not because of any obligation, to participate in a not-for-profit social activity. The act of participation in such an activity is called "volunteering." In its essence, volunteering is self-initiated activity not in search of economic value. Nevertheless, there are many forms of compensated volunteering to which some economic value is attached.