Presentado en la VI Conferencia Internacional de la Sociedad de Investigación del Tercer Sector (ISTR), 11 al 14 de julio de 2004, Toronto, Canadá. The social and economic implications of voluntary action are discussed in this paper since participation, solidarity and voluntarism are some of the important sources for the creation of social networks and trust, basic ingredients in the formation of the social capital (Putnam, 2000) within any given country. The numbers of participants, their economic contribution in volunteer hours in the formal and informal ambiance, plus the ways in which individuals become responsible citizens become key issues in the search of solutions to the country´s utmost needs: poverty, inequality, resource distribution, governance and civic participation.