Engage Library

“We had to be gone by 12 noon.” In this poignant, first-person Voices, Claire Haggarty describes what it was  like to be a volunteer manager who was forced to evolve during a pandemic. She recalls the touchstones of a year that included a fantastic professional start before the…

The last year brought unexpected change and disruption to the volunteer management profession. But as we all start a new year, the profession is poised to take advantage of opportunities to move forward and change the future for the better. In this Voices, Meghan Kaskoun…

What is Engage? How can we best describe its new, exciting content – including two new columns called Ethics and Ahead of the Curve? What happens now to e-Volunteerism.com? Can the Volunteer Engagement community continue to access content from this beloved professional journal?…

In this tribute Voices, co-editors Allyson Drinnon and Tracey O'Neill provide the first comprehensive description of the newly created Ellis Archive on the Professional Leadership of Volunteers, an important and exceptional resource for the entire field. Now offered through the…

In this Voices, co-editor Tracey O’Neill talks with leaders of volunteers about the value of podcasts, those video/audio presentations that now cover every topic around the world and can be accessed via computers, cell phones, and tablets. Through her interviews with…

At a recent Points of Light conference, a plenary session included short videos from volunteer programs around the world that showcased innovation in volunteer programs. Voices co-editor Allyson Drinnon found the videos inspiring, and gained permission to present a sampling…

In this Voices, Tracey O’Neill revisits a topic that definitely deserves a review: What does the field think about credentialing? O’Neill gathers diverse opinions from volunteer management colleagues across the globe, focusing specifically on the CVA (Certification in…

Should volunteer professionals expect to be paid for publishing and presenting? Or is there value in blogging and writing about volunteer management in order to share knowledge with peers in the field? In this Voices, co-editor Allyson Drinnon explores these questions. She…

In this Voices, co-editor Tracey O’Neill reviews a new book called The Disruptive Volunteer Manager by well-known volunteer manager Meridian Swift. As O’Neill explains, the new book lays out six steps to increase awareness of volunteers and to try and elevate volunteerism by…

The voices of international hospice and palliative care volunteers come through clearly in a new book, The Changing Face of Volunteering in Hospice and Palliative Care. Published in mid-2018 by Oxford University Press and edited by Ros Scott and Steven Howlett, it presents an…

This past August 2018, Starbucks, the coffee giant, and the non-profit organization Points of Light launched a six-month pilot program that allows Starbucks employees to get their full pay check while volunteering at selected non-profits for half the work week. Before long,…

Have you ever felt like you are working all alone in volunteer management, or being pulled in different directions by groups working in siloes? Then you will be excited to hear about the launch of the new National Alliance for Volunteer Engagement, a group that developed…

In this very personal Voices, join a conversation with Agnetta Nyalita as she takes you through her journey as a young African promoting volunteerism in her home in Kenya and across Africa. Nyalita will share stories of the struggles and progress made on the continent, how…

The United Nations General Assembly has mandated December 5th each year as “International Volunteer Day.” This day is viewed as a unique chance for volunteers and organizations to celebrate their efforts, to share their values, and to promote their work among their…

The United Nations is leading a worldwide effort to achieve clearly stated “Sustainable Development Goals.” Hundreds of organizations are selecting how they will contribute to the effort and, within that process, many are also determining where volunteers fit in. What are the…

Loyal readers of e-Volunteerism will remember Ivan Scheier as part of the journal’s advisory team and frequent contributor until his death in 2008. He was a pioneer and mentor to many of us and we devoted an entire issue in 2009 in tribute to him. He was also a prolific…

In this Voices, Kerry Martin explores the evolution and significance of TimeBanking, a concept that operates on a very core principle: For every hour of service that members provide to one another, they earn an hour that’s redeemable for another service for them. Through…

In this special Voices, Allyson Drinnon, the director of the Volunteer Resource Center for Habitat for Humanity International in Americus, Georgia, reports from the field at the International Association for Volunteer Effort (IAVE) World Volunteer Conference that took place…

Last year, e-Volunteerism wrote about volunteers at the front lines of the refugee crisis in Europe, and how their impassioned scramble to help—though often inefficient and always insufficient—nonetheless addressed grave needs and sent a message to governments to act. These…

Volunteering is generally presented very seriously – largely because many of the causes volunteers support are very serious. But not all. And even grim situations can evoke laughter, since a sense of humor is a great coping mechanism. Humor is also a great communication tool…