Responses to:
Educating
Other Professions about Volunteers: Starting at the Source
Submitted on 25Nov2003 anonymously
I think it is definitely time professionals get educated on using volunteer
resources. Another glaring oversight is in public libraries. Very
few library staff, librarians or administrators have any formal education in
working with volunteers. I have not found a Master in Library
Sciences and Information program at a university that educates students on
working with volunteers inside and outside the library walls.
Submitted on 13Nov2003 by Richard Potter, VP, American Humanics, Missouri,
USA
There is a growing movement in higher education that recognizes
the need for "nonprofit studies" and primary to this course of study is volunteer
management. At
the undergraduate level this is being taught through American Humanics
( www.humanics.org ). A
list of colleges that offer the program and nonprofit partners that support
it can be found on the web site.
Submitted on 11Nov2003 by Liz Adamshick, Columbus AIDS Task
Force, Columbus OH USA
I agree with Jennifer Fitzpatrick that we
need to serve as consultants in volunteer management to the various professions
that utilize volunteer staff. In
my current position, I have the amazing opportunity to make this educational
process a two-way street---what do I need to know about a day in the life of
a case manager before I can engage them in the challenges and rewards of working
with volunteers? I claim my role as an internal consultant for volunteer
management, and also know that professional ethics require me to advocate for
the profession beyond the walls of my organization. I suspect that the
competencies required to deliver high quality health care might, in spots,
overlap or match those required to manage a volunteer workforce, or administer
its systems. A side by side comparison of key responsibilities and
qualifications for this and the other professions Susan included might be
wonderfully revealing he re...
Thanks, Susan, for excellent food for thought.
Submitted on 10Nov2003 by Colleen Kelly, Volunteer Vancouver, British Columbia,
Canada
I read this hot topic with interest as we have
attempted to have all paid staff at our volunteer centre become managers of
their own volunteer program. We believe this is critical - in order to model
what we teach. However, I have learned that all paid staff do not have the
capacity to manage a volunteer program. Paid staff have to recruit, train,
coach, motivate, supervise, evaluate volunteers - and not everyone has the
capacity to do that! Is it only about receiving training? Or do we often
ask paid staff to do this that do not have that capacity? I've also learned
that many Executive Directors do not have that capacity, or even realize
that is what they're doing. Thus they do a less than adequate job of working
with their Volunteer Board of Directors. Is there training for Executive
Directors? And is it possible to manage the volunteer that is your boss?
Although, as managers of volunteer programs, we think about other staff in "our organization" and "our volunteers" -
in fact, the challenge is much more essential and integral to our organization's
operational capacity than we often realize.
Submitted on 7Nov2003 by Laurie Eytel, Volunteer Services Manager,
Children, Youth and Family Section, Fairfax County Dept. of Family Services,
Virginia, USA
I am a Volunteer Manager with social services. I have been
working on educating our staff on the value of volunteers, for as you point out,
this is not covered in schools. Here are some ideas that have worked (so far)
for me.
A presentation was made to upper management on the value of volunteers.
Buy-in is important, so I first asked how many in the room were volunteers
and if they felt what they did was important and that they did their vol. job
in a profession manner. Almost everyone of about 30 people in the room raised
their hands. I tied this in to the fact that our volunteers fall in that category
too.
Then I asked for job tasks that they would like help with, and I had a
long list of possibilities. This ranged from working directly with clients,
to admin. or graphic or research help. Organizational help in the office
was very popular. I have a "Volunteer
Request" form that they fill out, and I then recruit for them. I also offer
a training session on working with volunteers, and have a "cheat sheet" so
to speak of how to work with volunteers. Usually, it is one-on-one consultation,
but I've had a good response so far.
I also recruit for "set" programs such
as our mentoring programs, but these other individual requests have increased
the awareness of volunteers value in our dept. I've also started to put out
bi-weekly updates about the volunteer program on our in-house e-mail system,
and I publish a volunteer newsletter that many staff receive as well. Increasing
awareness, PLUS showing appreciation to the staff who use volunteers well are
all part of increasing the awareness and value that volunteers provide.
Submitted on 7Nov2003 by Miriam Leslie,
Volunteer Coordinator, Alberta, Canada
Another fascinating Hot Topic!
I can relate to Susan's comment about ministry students not being properly
trained to work with volunteers during seminary.
In my former life as a pastor, we did not receive specific training in this
area. Ironic, as ministry in the denomination to which I belonged, is a very
volunteer-driven organization.
Sadly, as my career progressed, more specific training was offered and I
did not avail myself of it.
The "school of hard knocks", experience and now College courses is making
a difference, fortunately.
Submitted on 5Nov2003 by Elizabeth Lowenger,
Guelph, Ontario Given the large number of volunteers in the
health care sector, another approach is to use internal documentation,
such as staff newsletters, to profile the impact of the volunteers AND
talk about the role of volunteering on the health of the volunteer. Volunteering
then becomes a form of prevention and may even be included in a treatment
plan. There are many studies that support the health benefits of volunteering.
Submitted on 5Nov2003 by Don Morgan, Consultant Visitor
/ Customer Service,
Kentucky USA
I just met with a client
yesterday and one of their big problems was staff dealing with volunteers/
Docents. One thing I detected very early was there were no ground rules for
the Docents.The Docents give tours of a historic house but they run their
own show. To train other Docents, there is not a written script and one Docent
trains the new Docent as they see fit. Each Docent has their own version of
the tour and some leave out entire areas of the house. I have a number of issues
to deal with between the staff, Docents and the Board committee members. Each
one has a different idea of how things should go. My experience is that most
institutions; museums, historic homes etc could not exist without Volunteers
and you have to treat them right or they won't stay.
Submitted on
4Nov2003 by Nancy S. Heilman, Coordinator of Tutoring and Volunteer Services
Sandhills Community College, North Carolina, USA
This article had some good ideas for me to implement. As
Coordinator of Tutoring and Volunteer Services at Sandhills Community College,
I am always looking for new ideas to improve relations between instructors
and volunteers. Currently,
I have two major tools which I use to incorporate better relations between
instructors and volunteers. I require all potential volunteers to audit
a class in which they have an interest to tutor. This has worked well
because the volunteer is introduced to the student population, the curriculum
and the teaching style of a particular instructor. At the end of the semester,
the volunteer is more confident in approaching the subject matter as a tutor. In
addition, the instructor has experienced the older citizen in the classroom
and has forged a relationship with that person which will benefit the students
if the volunteer becomes a classroom assistant. Secondly, I speak at department
meetings at the beginning of every semester at which I give some tips on
the utilization of volunteer classroom assistants. I only place volunteers
in classrooms where the instructor is comfortable having one. Having the
text on hand for the volunteer to peruse before a semester begins is also
helpful.
Submitted on 4Nov2003 by
Jennifer Fitzpatrick, Manager of Volunteers,
Mercy Health System of Maine
I feel that we administrators of volunteer programs
need to be available to schools and universities as consultants in volunteer
management. Whether
that is leading workshops or teaching courses, we need to get the message across
to all professions that volunteer management is comprised of professional skill
development. I recently had the opportunity to teach a 'nuts and bolts'
course to a professional group of Librarians. They were like sponges soaking
up every word. I also taught a course "Recognizing and Rewarding Volunteers" for
the University as part of its Non-profit certificate program. I believe
there are many of us out in the field providing this training. Every little
bit of education helps us all.
Submitted on 4Nov2003 by Diane L. Hennessy, Director of Volunteers,
South Florida Science Museum, West Palm Beach, Florida
Thank you for this month's
hot topic! Of all the goals I have set for my program, this one is the most
important. I am a director of volunteers, not slaves! Much of our success needs
to start at the top of the organization, with ground rules in dealing with
PEOPLE set down from the start. I have come a long way in my job of matching
the right volunteer to the right department. One educator at our facility used
to make the "eers" in
volunteers go downward when he said the word "volunteers". It was really easy
to know his feelings. I have volunteers who used to be professors at Harvard,
George Washington University, and a couple who have started their own schools
overseas! I know I'm starting to make a difference when we ALL feel the grief
when one dies. Also, I have managed to combine the talents of my oldest volunteer
(93) and my youngest (14) to work together. This could easily be another hot
topic! Count on me to spread the word about working with volunteers! What an
excellent DOVS topic as well!
