How Many Days Until International Volunteer Day 2026?

When is International Volunteer Day 2026?

International Volunteer Day 2026 is on Saturday, December 5, 2026. The date stays the same each year (December 5); the day of the week moves on by one, or by two after a February 29. The 2027 date is Sunday, December 5. It's also called IVD.

Source for the date: UN General Assembly resolution 40/212.

About International Volunteer Day

Two votes in the UN General Assembly shaped this day. Resolution 2659, passed in December 1970, created UN Volunteers, which began work at the start of 1971 and places volunteers in UN projects around the world. Fifteen years later, resolution 40/212 set aside a day each year to thank volunteers, and UN Volunteers has coordinated it ever since from Bonn, Germany, where its headquarters moved in 1996.

Most volunteering never passes through an organization. The 2018 State of the World's Volunteerism Report, published by UN Volunteers, found that about 70 percent of it is informal, people helping neighbors directly. On the day, food banks, hospitals and sports clubs hold thank-you events and recruitment drives, and some governments present national volunteering awards. Each year UN Volunteers picks a theme and runs a campaign around it.

How many business days until International Volunteer Day?

Without weekends, International Volunteer Day is 35 weekdays away, Monday to Friday from tomorrow through Friday, December 4. Take out Veterans Day and Thanksgiving Day and the US count is 33 business days. Each country drops its own public holidays, so the UK gets 35, Canada 34 and Australia 35.

Holidays that only a state, province or employer gives, between October 18 and December 5, are still in the count. The business days calculator can take yours out.

Countdown milestones to International Volunteer Day

The countdown to International Volunteer Day reaches 30 days on Thursday, November 5, 2026 and gets down to 1 day on Friday, December 4, 2026.

Days until International Volunteer Day from other dates

A week from today, on Saturday, October 24, there will be 42 days to go until International Volunteer Day, and from Sunday, November 1 it will be 34 days.

December 2026

International Volunteer Day 2026 facts

About this count

Each midnight takes one off the 49. Today is left out and December 5 itself is counted, so on Friday, December 4 the page will show 1 day to go. US clocks go back on Sunday, November 1 along the way, which changes the hours but not the number of days.

In Excel or Google Sheets, =DATE(2026,12,5)-TODAY() gives the same 49 today; add 1 to count today as well.

This countdown to International Volunteer Day 2026 was worked out on Saturday, October 17, 2026 (US Eastern time), and your browser recounts it from your own date when the page opens.

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