Responses to: Global Connections - International
Volunteerism
Submitted by Ginny Orth, Volunteer Program Manager, The Volunteer
Center, St. Paul, MN
I have had three opportunities to visit with people from other
countries about volunteerism. A woman from Mongolia who worked for
the president, was studying at the Humphrey Institute at the University
of Minnesota. She wanted to implement a volunteer program in Mongolia,
a former communist and nomadic country. I spent many hours on several
occasions talking with her and sharing materials.
I also met with two women from Sweden who spent a week at Lynblomsten
Home in St. Paul observing a volunteer program. They hoped to implement
ideas learned in St. Paul in a Swedish Nursing Home. At the Minnesota
State Confence I visited with a woman from Korea who started a volunteer
program in health care in her country.
Each woman had unique challenges to meet in her country due to
history, culture, customs, and even geography!
Submitted by Liz Weaver, Volunteer Centre of Hamilton & District,
Hamilton, Ontario Canada
Volunteerism is alive and well in Canada as our neighbours to the
South know. We are watching trends like the VC2000 and the initiatives
of the Points of Light Foundation with interest. While, activities
which take place in the US may not always fit the Canadian model,
we can learn from both successes and failures. Civic participation
enriches all of us.
Pamela Kruse-Buckingham, Volunteer Coordinator, Washington, USA
Although the scope of our mission at the county museum I work for
is not "international", I have taken strides to reach
out to all ethnic backgrounds in this county. I invite all ethnic
groups I can find to participate in the volunteer activities here,
and to hopefully, eventually round out the museum's volunteer base,
Board of Trustees, and the museum's collection. Creating an "international"
scope for your non-profit organization can start small and continue
to grow. Either way, it can truly be an asset.
Response from Bruce Fraser, Body Positive Strathclyde, Scotland
Susan is absolutely correct. Volunteerism is not uniquely American.
I manage a force of Volunteers in Glasgow, Scotland for an organisation
for people living with HIV/AIDS. We have two volunteers who have
only been to The Body Positive Centre where we are based once for
an interview. One has children and cannot get in. She works on documents
and we e-mail each other back and forth. Another one is a University
student and actually updates our website, without us having to do
anything. There is no reason why we cannot have volunteers from
other countries (of course we don't have an electronic application
form yet and the problem of interviewing/checking for suitability
is yet to be solved I feel) but these are challenges, not reasons
not to accept volunteers from other countries.
