In Hungary, hospice care has existed for more than thirty years, but there is still much to be done to shape social attitudes towards end-of-life issues. Volunteer staff are an integral part of both awareness-raising and hospice care. Consequently, the aim of my case study is to review the current situation of hospice volunteering in Hungary. I will describe the ways in which people interested in hospice volunteering can become involved in the work of health care providers, their typical motivations, and the factors necessary to make a lasting commitment to the activity. I will look at the current roles of volunteers in hospice work and the current situation of hospice volunteering in terms of strengths, challenges, opportunities, and dangers. Strengths include the increasing involvement of volunteers in hospice care and the specific added value they bring. Their role in raising awareness and reducing the burden on the healthcare system is indisputable. A challenge is the limited time available for volunteer coordination and the lack of coherence at the national level. At the same time, there are opportunities to increase interest in end-of-life issues and to increase volunteering and address labour shortages. Motivation volatility, turnover, burnout, and over-involvement constitute risks. However, it is encouraging to see that people interested in volunteering are becoming more involved in hospice care in a variety of ways, and that healthcare organisations are becoming more inclusive. As interest in end-of-life issues grows, there are greater opportunities for awareness-raising and community-building, starting from childhood. Another forward-looking step would be the creation of an uniform national documentation and register and the standardisation and extension of training.

Keywords: volunteering, hospice, tarining, social attitude, hospice volunteering nowadays