Weekly Volunteer Management News
Archive for 2003 July-January (Current News)
27July2003: Three
global leaders in volunteering and citizen action have finalized
an agreement to "help enhance the impact of volunteers
for peace and development worldwide." Under the accord,
the World Alliance for Citizen Participation (CIVICUS), the
International Association for Volunteer Effort (IAVE), and
United Nations Volunteers (UNV) will identify key areas of
collaboration, including promotion and advocacy campaigns,
publications, studies on volunteerism and joint publicity for
volunteer initiatives. Read the full press release at: http://www.unvolunteers.org/infobase/news_releases/
2003/03_07_04DEU_iave_civicus.htm. We'll be watching to
see what develops.
22June2003: Energize
will host its first annual Online Bookstore Festival in two
weeks: July 7-11…and you
are invited! Join in live “chats” each day with
the leading authors in the field of volunteerism (from three
countries), hear their personal comments in audio interviews,
and post questions to a message board to which the authors will
respond. We have scheduled events to be accessible to all time
zones around the world during the course of the week. For more
details, click
here.
We want to share our excitement for our growing selection of
electronic material for leaders and coordinators of volunteers,
as well as demonstrate how easy it is to use an electronic book.
So – only between 7-11 July -- every Festival visitor
can download a free electronic book
of essays written expressly for the Festival: The Rants
and Raves Anthology: What’s on the Minds of Leading Authors
in the Volunteer World.
8June2003: Once again, our Australian colleagues have provided everyone with a great, free resource: Running the Risk? This is a "Risk Management Tool for Volunteer-Involving Organisations," a 52-page guide (2003) to assessing and managing risks for volunteer programs, produced by Volunteering Australia -- but applicable everywhere. It can be downloaded as a PDF or in html sections at http://www.volunteeringaustralia.org/risk.shtml
1June2003: As will come as no surpise to any of our site visitors, the SARS epidemic has given rise to all sorts of new volunteer participation. See what's happening in Singapore, where the National Volunteer Centre has formed the "StAR Force" (http://www.nvc.org.sg/star_force/sars.html) to engage citizens in everything from temperature taking to public education. The Washington Post reported last week that "in China, volunteers and officials in Beijing handed out 'spit bags' and tissue packets Sunday, intensifying a public health campaign aimed at preventing the spread of SARS in the capital...." And in Canada, St. John Ambulance volunteers distributed "isolation kits" (http://www.pulse24.com/News/Top_Story/20030402-012/page.asp) to those under quarantine, only one of many prevention and support roles filled by volunteers.
25May2003:The 19th of May is the traditional
Adelaide Cup public holiday in South Australia and is now also
a special day set aside to honor the thousands who volunteer
their services across the State (how many other places have
a public holiday for volunteers?). Read all about it at:http://www.environment.sa.gov.au/dehaa/pdfs/
annual_abridged5.pdf. Last week, the Premier hosted 1800
people (mostly volunteers and volunteer managers) for a performance
of the State Opera, followed by a ceremonial signing of the
South Australia compact document called "Advancing the
Community Together" (ACT). See the SA Office for Volunteers
Web site for the details: http://www.ofv.sa.gov.au/compact.htm
11May2003: Thanks to the BBC, we can keep tabs on happenings in the British volunteer world. A current news story is headlined "Frisky Toads Saved by Volunteers" http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/somerset/3012265.stm, while "The Naked Truth of Art Volunteers" was highlighted last month http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/arts/2981613.stm. Do a search on the word "volunteer" from the site's homepage and enjoy.
4May2003: Educating our colleagues, one profession at a time: Action Without Borders, best known for its Idealist.org Web site, is sponsoring the First National Conference for Nonprofit Human Resources in Philadelphia, PA on June 11-14. The event is designed for seasoned full-time HR professionals, as well as for Executive Directors, Directors of Operations, or other staff at smaller nonprofits who must wear the HR hat among many others. Susan Ellis is part of the opening panel, explaining why volunteers are indeed a subject with which HR staff should be concerned. Volunteers will be discussed in other workshops, too -- so send your HR folks! For full information, go to: http://www.idealist.org/conference2003
27Apr2003: Have you been looking for books that introduce children to volunteering? If so, then applaud Volunteer Calgary for introducing the first of a planned series of lovely and colorful books based on the volunteering adventures of youngsters Patrick and Sara. The initial story is about helping at a homeless shelter. Read details and see sample artwork at http://www.volunteercalgary.ab.ca/families/storybook.html. The browse through the excellent "Families Volunteering Together" area of this extensive Web site.
20Apr2003: Watch your mail for the long-awaited
conference registration book for the fast-approaching Points
of Light annual event, The 2003 National Conference on Community
Volunteering and National Service. It will be held in Baltimore,
Maryland on June 8-10 - and it's a great place to meet many
of the authors of the books in our Online Bookstore (in fact,
there's going to be an authors' book signing on Tuesday). You
can also download the 52-page brochure at : http://www.pointsoflight.org/2003conference/
conference.cfm
13Apr2003: The Ontario Rural Council conducted an extensive volunteer management literature review from the perspective of rural volunteers and rural organizations in Canada, adapted what they learned and added targeted material to produce a new publication: Valuing the Rural Volunteer Toolkit (http://www.torc.on.ca/torceng/memact/VRVToolkit.htm) (free to download or available at cost in printed form). The Toolkit offers 70 pages highlighting the principles of volunteer management, with excellent worksheets to guide self-assessment, including an analysis of "Are You Rural?" This is a needed resource for an under-served audience
6Apr2003: Volunteer Recruiters
are "Logging On"
The April 1st issue of Nonprofit Times reports a trend that
Energize has been predicting: the influence of the Web on volunteering.
Nonprofit Times reporter Craig Causer focuses on the Web as
a tool for recruitment and more specifically, how organizations,
such as River City Youth Foundation (RCYF) in Austin, TX, are
using the Web to snatch up "impulse volunteers." Go
to http://www.nptimes.com/Apr03/sr2.html
for the full article and discover why nonprofits of all budgets
levels are "logging on"!
NEWS: The war in Iraq is the overwhelming news story of the moment. Consider the volunteer perspective on this global issue (April's Hot Topic will discuss this more): whether for or against the military action, it's citizen activists - volunteers - who are taking to the streets to express their opinion and engage in civil disobedience. There are many Web sites devoted to either or both sides of this emotional topic. A few to check out are: United for Peace: http://www.unitedforpeace.org/, the BBC News "talking point" feature: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/talking_point/2742687.stm, Rally for America (Glenn Beck): http://www.glennbeck.com/home/rally.shtml, International Answer: http://www.internationalanswer.org/, and the Independent Media Center (http://www.indymedia.org/) where you can read reports from dozens of countries.
NEWS: The Milano Nonprofit Management Knowledge Hub http://www.newschool.edu/milano/hub/ is seeking volunteer reviewers for its Spring reviews of the most useful Web sites for nonprofit researchers and professionals. Volunteers must be willing to provide 1-3 hours of time twice a year reviewing Web sites based on specific criteria. As a reviewer, you also have the opportunity to help plan improvements to the Knowledge Hub, and get invited to periodic networking and social events. They are especially interested in reviewers who have a special knowledge of a particular aspect of nonprofit management — so put your volunteerism knowledge to good use! To apply, send an e-mail describing your expertise to Leo Vazquez: VazquezL@NEWSCHOOL.EDU
NEWS: Have you heard about the innovative volunteer promotion idea launched by WestCoast Hospitality Corporation for its 22 Red Lion Hotels in Northwestern United States? It's called "Team Red" http://teamred.redlion.com/teamred/default.asp, described on their Web site as: "A volunteer organization where our company's associates and guests work side-by-side to make our community a better place. Plus, guests who put in a day¹s work with Team Red get a free night¹s stay on us. Which should make your world a little better, too." They've already posted an impressive calendar of dozens of one-day service projects. Maybe this concept will spark a new trend. Why not approach hotels in your area with this idea?
NEWS: Hestia, the National Volunteer Center in Prague, announced the opening of a new English-language Web site for Project Volunteer.cz www.volunteer.cz. The site provides information about volunteering in the Czech Republic, including available volunteer opportunities, and a number of provocative articles on past and present attitudes about volunteering in a socialist/communist context.
NEWS: AVA, in partnership with the UPS Foundation and Points of Light, has produced a 21-page guide for grantmakers: http://avaintl.org/advocacy/funderguide.html "A Guide to Investing in Volunteer Resources Management: Improve Your Philanthropic Portfolio." It can be downloaded for free or bought in hard copy. Part of AVA's "Positioning the Profession" project, this unique booklet can be used anywhere to educate funders about the value of supporting volunteer efforts.
NEWS:
In the State of the Union Address last week
we once again heard mention of volunteers, community service
and mentoring. At the same time, the USA Freedom Corps, which
was announced during last year's Address, issued its first year
report http://www.freedomcorps.gov/about_usafc/
whats_new/announcements/20030130-2.asp. Two items of note
are the creation of the President’s Council on Service
and Civic Participation (to be modelled on the Council on Physical
Fitness and Sports and chaired by an ex-football player - draw
your own conclusions) and a nationwide recognition program called
the President’s Volunteer Service Awards.
NEWS: One of the legacies of the International Year of Volunteers in several countries was open dialogue on the interrelationship of government and volunteering. Both the Canadian Code for Volunteer Involvement and the Volunteering Code of Good Practice from England offer an agenda of undertakings for both the government and the voluntary/community sector. Further, each outlines the values, principles, and standards for effective volunteer practices within organizations. Links to both recently-released documents are now posted in our library area at http://www.energizeinc.com/art/subj/legislation.html
NEWS: All last week, the "Today" show ( a national morning news television program in the United States) ran a feature on volunteer vacations. Katie Couric and Matt Lauer could not get over the fact that "we've received more e-mails and letters on this feature than we have ever gotten on a subject before!" The series was very well done and the program's Web site gives much more detail about all the segments and organizations highlighted http://www.msnbc.com/news/today_front.asp?cp1=1. There is an especially interesting Q&A page on which travel editor Peter Greenberg http://www.msnbc.com/news/857351.asp#BODY answers viewer's e-mails about volunteer vacations and taxes, safety, whether to bring the family, and opportunities for those with disabilities.
NEWS: The US Department of Labor ended the year with a whirl of publications, among them "Volunteering in the United States" http://www.bls.gov/news.release/volun.toc.htm (released December 18, 2002). This report is based on new data collected in a supplement to the September 2002 Current Population Survey (CPS) and is what was referred to in several places last fall as the "Census Bureau Study." What's fascinating is how closely the results mirror previous studies. See for yourself.
NEWS: Steve McCurley has finished the enormous task of updating his extensive Volunteerism Bibliography and it is now available free here on the Energize Web site! The Bibliography, a 161-page document with 3146 references, contains the most comprehensive list ever produced of citations of volunteer-related books and articles in the English language, including citations for Internet documents. Bravo, Steve! We have kept the 1999 version on the site as well, for those who prefer browsing by author without downloading the complete PDF. Colleagues are asked to help keep the Bibliography current by reporting new material to Steve, and we would be happy to post any other bibliographies on volunteerism materials in languages other than English.
NEWS: Better late than never...The
New York Times ran a story last week about
virtual volunteering http://www.nytimes.com/2002/12/05/
technology/circuits/05char.html. The content isn't a huge
revelation to most of us, but it is always good when a publication
with a national reputation gives something in our field credibility.
NEWS: Points of Light Foundation makes e-Volunteerism a benefit of membership! For the next year, Volunteer Center members and nonprofit/Government members of the Points of Light will have direct access to e-Volunteerism via the password-access area of their Web site (log in at the bottom of http://www.pointsoflight.org). A special "portal" then allows Foundation members to click directly into the online journal. A similar portal is a benefit of membership in the Australasian Association for Volunteer Administrators (AAVA) <http://www.aava.asn.au/> and will soon be coming to the National Centre on Volunteering in England. Contact editor@e-volunteerism.com for more information about portals.
NEWS: Unique Celebration of Volunteers
The Royal Australian Mint has just released a new series of
2003 commemorative coins to celebrate the work of Australia's
volunteers. They can be viewed at the Mint's
website. As the Mint says: "Brimming with the spirit
of mateship and goodwill, this wonderful memento is a fitting
tribute to the many unsung Australians who do credit to us all."
Editoral from Volunteer Calgary of Value of Volunteering
Three weeks ago we announced the Canadian report on "Assigning
Economic Value to Volunteer Activity." But also out of
Canada comes an opposing view. Susan discovered this articulate
editorial from Volunteer Calgary
and requested permission to share it more widely. There are
indeed two sides to this trend. Opposing View: "The
Value of Volunteering" Editorial from Volunteer Calgary
urging the field not to assign a monetary value to
volunteering.
Yet another valuable resource from Canada!
This week it's "Family Volunteering: A Discussion Paper"
http://www.volunteer.ca/volunteer/pdf/FamilyEng.pdf
(available in English and French), in which Volunteer Canada
defines terms, describes how and why families engage in service,
examines strategies and barriers to implement family projects,
and includes an extensive bibliography. Free, 22-page, PDF document.
Nonprofits Canada has just released a
report on the monetary value of volunteering
that will be useful to program leaders anywhere. Titled "Assigning
Economic Value to Volunteer Activity: Eight Tools for Efficient
Program Management," the 24-page document is available
free as a PDF file at
http://www.nonprofitscan.ca/pdf/MAN/Goulbourne-MAN-English-Web.pdf.
Check out the other interesting volunteer-related material on
the same site.
There's a new online resource for "arts management professionals who currently involve volunteers in their organisations, and for those who don't": "Cultural Volunteer" - cv - a free electronic newsletter produced by Lynn Blackadder of Arts People and Projects, a consultant based in England. cv aims to actively campaign for the recognition and progression of volunteers working in arts organisations and to provide useful information, resources, and commentary on volunteering in the cultural sector. The first issue (just released) shows that cv will balance UK information with universal issues. To subscribe, go to www.lynnblackadder.com and send the e-mail as instructed.
Plan NOW for International Volunteer Day (IVD), 5 December! This annual commemoration sponsored by the United Nations is a great volunteer recognition opportunity. Read the UN Resolution and see suggestions from UNV colleague Jayne Cravens and others in our Collective Wisdom area. And then go to www.ivma-day.org to learn about International Volunteer Manager Appreciation Day on the same date.
Our English colleagues are making news. The National Centre for Volunteering, Consortium on Opportunities for Volunteering, and Volunteer Development England have just announced their intent to "create a new integrated national volunteer development organisation" for England within the next year. This ground-breaking collaboration will be a model for other countries, we're sure. Read the press release on the Centre site
A new study of the nation's civic life was released last week by The Pew Charitable Trusts, in collaboration with the Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning & Engagement (CIRCLE). The report analyzes a comprehensive survey of Americans' civic and political behavior from voting to volunteering, chronicles the differences between the generations, and takes the most in-depth look to date at the civic perspective and behavior of "Generation DotNet" (ages 15-25). For more information about the study, including detailed results and methods, visit: http://youth_index.civicyouth.org.
Volunteer Calgary invites you to use their free online resources for volunteer program leaders, on such topics as job design, supervision and evaluation, risk assessment, employee volunteering, and - newly added - how to run a virtual volunteering project. Click on the "Resources & Publications" button.
As of August 1st, the popular CyberVPM discussion group will become the property of the Association for Volunteer Administration http://www.avaintl.org. CyberVPM will continue as a free public forum, open to both AVA members and non-members - anyone practicing or interested in the profession of volunteer resource management. Founder Nan Hawthrone is working closely with AVA's webmaster to ensure a smooth transition and current volunteers have agreed to continue monitoring for etiquette and content. To learn how to subscribe to CyberVPM as well as and other listservs, visit our Listservs page.
Australian colleagues can now meet in cyberspace through a new, free listserv: "OzVPM." Andy Fryar, list founder and moderator, announces the start of OzVPM as a group dedicated to discussing volunteer management issues - particularly as they relate to the Australian/Australasian scene..."but of course we are happy to discuss issues with our colleagues from elsewhere, too." To learn more about the OzVPM group, visit http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ozvpm. If you are already signed up with Yahoo, you can subscribe by sending a blank e-mail to: ozvpm-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
Ever wished you could find great photographs of volunteer activities? Our UK colleagues have the answer! Visit the user-friendly National Centre for Volunteering Image Bank at http://www.volunteering.org.uk/volunteering/imagebank/ for positive photographs of volunteering, capturing the diversity of people and activities - ideal for tempting recruitment posters, eye-catching flyers and upbeat annual reports. No one will know the nationality of the people in the photos, so these should be fine for use in other countries, too. And they promise "a pricing structure designed to enable small, under-funded organisations to access images for a fraction of the normal cost."
Lovely legacy of IYV: View the "Volunteer!" - an original, exclusive, new tulip produced in honor of IYV. It's now in full bloom within the five boroughs of New York City, synchronistically for National Volunteer Week . Read about it in our Volunteer Recognition area, includes details and a photo. The Volunteer! will be on sale in the fall.
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