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Political Activists: Every Volunteer
Program Should Have Them
Posted 12Dec01
Submitted by Denise M. Laugtug, Director, Ambassadors Circle,
Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service, Baltimore, MD, USA
This article is especially poignant as we struggle with the aftermath
of September 11. As an agency dedicated to serving the most vulnerable
of immigrants and refugees, we at Lutheran Immigration and Refugee
Service find much of our time spent in advocacy. We advocate with
Congress and with the administrative arm of government. Yet the volunteer
change-agents of the LIRS Ambassadors Circle bring a special voice
to their communities and to their legislators. Many of them are former
refugees or immigrants or have welcomed someone to his or her community.
Their voices remind all of us of why we share what is truly important
in being American: family, freedom, and a fruitful life. These "voluteers"
want to maintain peace and respect for everyone in a community and
are willing to work to see that happen. It never ceases to amaze me.
Posted 21Nov01
Submitted by Mark Steven, Information Officer, Edinburgh Volunteer
Exchange, Scotland
Read our recent article on this topic at http://www.edinburghvolunteers.org/orgs/news.htm
Posted 20Nov01
Submitted by Gary Turner, Deputy Director, CityCares/Hands on
Atlanta, Atlanta/Georgia USA
As I read articles like this one and other materials on citizen non-action
I become more and more disturbed. What amazes me is how we don't READ
and dissect the classics, independent of the community from which
they rise. Generations are missing out on the importance of the works
of those who have already passed into the world of the living. The
old adage "those who don't know their history are doomed to repeat
it" continuously rings in my ear. We have got to get the young to
understand that action and advocacy are twin forces and not distant
acquaintances. Fear is a constant paralyzer. It arises most of the
time from the unknown. Therefore, we must struggle to expand what
is known and from that broader base of knowledge the fear(s) is removed
because the unknown no longer exist.
Posted 20Nov01
Submitted by Lisa Flick, Program Director, CityCares, Atlanta/Georgia
USA
I am reading a book right now called The Children, which is
about the student-led civil rights movement in Nashville. Additionally,
I was watching an HBO movie last night that I have seen a few times
now about the Montgomery Bus Boycott. As I watch and read this history,
I ask myself why my generation is not rising up and speaking out -
not just on issues associated with the war on terrorism, but against
the atrocities that happen every day in our own backyards. I agree
whole heartedly that action and advocacy are completely linked, but
somewhere in the past the two became separated, and action became
fun and easy and something you do when you have the time, not something
that is an integral part of your attitude and approach to the world
around you. As a member of a national network, CityCares, I have been
part of powerful approach to increase the connection to action and
advocacy through a program called Citizen Academy. This program blends
education, action, advocacy to move volunteers to deeper understanding
on critical issues, increase their leadership capacity for change,
and encourages them to merge the paths of education, action and advocacy.
I would be happy to share this new approach with anyone that is interested
(lflick@citycares.org).
Posted 20Nov01
Submitted by John Magisano, Technical Assistance Specialist, NY AIDS
Coalition, New York, USA
This is a great topic, but perhaps too narrowly phrased. I think we
need to stop thinking of volunteers as a "resource" to be used and
start thinking of them as stakeholders in our missions. We are hopefully
trying to develop the next generation of leaders in organizations
through this integration of stakeholders and constituents. I feel
that we, as paid staff are usually too afraid of empowering people
enough so that they will perhaps have opinions about the way we do
things, and will begin to question our procedures and want input into
the decision-making. Heaven forbid our "volunteers" feel strongly
enough about our missions to question our effectiveness!
Posted 19Nov01
Submitted by Shana Baker, unaffiliated, Maine, USA
This really hits home. Now that I am semi-retired and delighted with
the time that I can now call my own, I have a big desire to do 'service.'
Teaching at-risk teens to read and working with new refugees from
Bosnia in America (ESL) feels meaningful to me. But these kids might
not be at-risk if their parents had more than minimum wage jobs and
didn't have the kinds of economic pressures that implode family life.
Summer of 2000 I worked at an Aids orphanage in S. Africa. The babies
just kept coming. How I think of it: there is great need. I am only
one person.
Posted 19Nov01
Submitted by Mark Carr, Assistant Director, Bridging The Gap,
Kansas City, Missouri
Being fortunate enough to work for a social change organization, I
think that painting this as an issue of how we use volunteers is limiting.
If the organization doesn't have a social change goal in mind, then
it will be very difficult to get volunteers to take on the task. It
is far too easy for organizations to focus only on the narrow problem,
and forget about root causes. Not using volunteers for advocacy and
education is a symptom of that narrow focus. An organization that
uses volunteers as an extension of staff can effectively use them
for advocacy only if social change is part of the group's overall
goals.
Posted 19Nov01
Submitted by Marsha Riddle, Director of Volunteer Services,
N.C.
As Volunteer Managers we really do need to educate and give greater
opportunity for the volunteer to improve the quality of life for all
society. It means for each of us taking a risk. What happens when
education meets opportunity...Change! Are we all willing to allow
volunteers to "rock the boat" and support change?
Volunteerism is always changing to meet needs. Have the secure systems of Volunteer Management prevented us from arming the volunteers with the knowledge needed to change the political and government systems which are not working for the people? Or do we not want to risk the security of a well trained group of volunteers whose actions may be stymied by being puppets of the organization? Volunteer advocates can be the cutting edge. They do and can raise their voices on our behalf if they are educated and armed to mount a battle for the cause we might represent.
Some non-profits should strive to reach their ultimate goal. Some have done this and have moved on to fight other related battles. The March of Dimes is a perfect example of an organization that help to conquer a disease and move on to another mission and cause. Missions can be changed if staff are not stuck in their roles and jobs and work as a team with volunteers to improve the quality of life for all citizens of our country.
Posted 13Nov01
Submitted by Sheri Comfort, Volunteer Manager, Housing Hope, Wasington
state, USA
I am very pleased to see this as a hot topic. We work with homeless
families, and as social/political issues worsen, the case load gets
heavier. I would love to see volunteers tackling root causes. However,
I have no idea as to how to help them do this, as my own political
background is limited. This would be a great topic for training. What
books would you recommend?
Posted 09Nov01
Submitted by Heather Blakeley, National Association for Colits
and Crohn's Disease, Hertfordshire, England
An interesting topic. We have just had a Forum for our volunteers
and to help them through a period of change we asked them to think
through the reasons why they are volunteers and what they want to
achieve. They agreed that one of the ways they wanted to help was
by instigating change through lobbying and by being activists as well
as carrying out fundraising and support activities. So give the volunteer
the opportunity and they will get involved!
Posted 09Nov01
Submitted by Manuel Acevedo, e-Volunteering unit coordinator, UN Volunteeers,
Bonn, Germany
I think that your thoughtful essay helps one to pause on the "what's"
and "how's" of volunteering. Drawing a parallel to civil society organizations
at large, some specialize in direct action (e.g., access to nursery
care for poor working mothers), while others focus more on changing
existing policies (e.g., passing legislation on services for those
mothers). Some manage to do both, with varying relative weights. Action
on both fronts is clearly necessary. Volunteering can have a wonderfully
"subversive" character, i.e., taking power away from traditional power
centers which inevitably is put to use at some point. I believe that
in Europe, where the general population looks more to Governments
as providers than in the US, this is making many people support volunteerism
where they once thought it a disguised excuse for Governments to do
less. At any rate, one of the ingredients for responsible and productive
activism is good knowledge of a particular subject matter. "Direct
action" volunteering is a practical way to accrue such knowledge.
I would thus venture to say that volunteers who have gotten involved
in some avenue of direct service provision will make for good, informed
and productive activists. Among change agents, volunteers are hard
to beat.
Posted 09Nov01
Submitted by Jayne Cravens, United Nations Volunteers, Germany
I think there are two reasons volunteer hosting organizations (in
the U.S., at least) are reluctant to engage their volunteers in advocacy:
one, the organizations have been told at some point that nonprofits
are forbidden from engaging in any lobby efforts whatsoever (which
isn't true, though the Ishtook Amendments in Congress would, indeed,
make this so) and, two, because nonprofits seem to be terrified these
days to make any statements that could be deemed in any way political,
for fear of losing funding from some big corporate donor. Which is
interesting since, as a donor, I am most attracted to those organizations
that engage in advocacy and aren't afraid to make statements that
might be seen by others as political. As always, excellent topic on
Energize!
Posted 05Nov01
Submitted by Manon Ellis Williams, Volunteering Development
Officer, Wales Council for Voluntary Action, Wales, UK
Interesting piece. Reminded me of a meeting a few years back where
someone said "Why are we sitting here discussing how to manage poverty?
Shouldn't we be out there getting rid of it?" My colleague's comments
on the piece were "but all of the social activists have gone away,
or grown older or died! Where are their descendants?" Maybe they are
out there, but don't know that they can volunteer to lobby and protest?
Posted 05Nov01
Submitted by Jeanne Bradner, President, Jeanne H. Bradner & Associates,
Winnetka, Illinois, USA
Good topic, Susan. Interestingly on Saturday I was teaching a course
on outcome evaluation at Harper College. In that I stress the notion
of volunteers and directors of volunteers thinking through the question
"what do you want to change"? It's always a hard concept for students
to grasp because what they think they want to change, for example,
often is to have more volunteers or a more diverse volunteer corps.
Those are good thoughts, but they are not what the program exists
for. When students do come to grips with the idea, it's like a light
going on as they says things like "I want to change the way our society
deals with people with disabilities" etc. It's another instance where
"managers" can get caught up in means rather than ends. Leaders focus
on ends and then develop the means to achieve them.
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