Engage Library
Why do volunteers break the rules? This Research to Practice reviews an ethnographic study of an animal shelter where disruptive behavior by volunteers was a regular occurrence. This disruptive behavior was defined as “any behavior that either explicitly violated a rule or…
January 2018
Despite being an important part of our physical and mental health, as well as playing an integral part in our emotional wellbeing and social relationships, sexual health can sometimes still be a difficult subject to define and talk about. Different cultures, sub-cultural…
January 2018
When volunteer management consultant Sheri Wilensky Burke hears about an organization’s poor volunteer retention, she often discovers that the organization has not defined retention goals. “It’s common to set goals for recruiting volunteers and other metrics, but often…
January 2018
Volunteer recruitment messaging is long overdue for an overhaul. But what wording works best? This Training Designs article will walk you through the technique of “testing” messages to determine which are most effective with different audiences. You’ll learn how to design and…
October 2017
Some years ago, Debbie Mason Talbot, a hospital-based manager of volunteer resources, and Ann M. Heesters, director of bioethics at the same institution, came together to discuss a series of cases that generated moral distress for their volunteers and for those who supported…
October 2017
What role can volunteering and leaders of volunteer engagement play in developing future leaders? This Research to Practice reviews a new instrument developed specifically to help volunteer resource managers identify future leaders in their volunteer base.
Recognizing that…
October 2017
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…
October 2017
Vicar Fraser Dyer of St. Anne and All Saints, an Anglican Church in South London, believes that the “whole business of volunteer management in churches is somewhat tricky.” And he should know. Before Vicar Dyer became ordained, he was an active and passionate secular…
October 2017
When it comes to volunteer handbooks, one thing is certain: One size does not fit all.
In this issue’s Along the Web, Faye C. Roberts explains why one organization’s handbook cannot be merely duplicated and adopted by another organization or group. “This should be obvious,”…
October 2017
The Daily Mail online recently published a Reuters article, “Good job or taking work? Volunteering by asylum seekers in Italy praised and panned.” It provides an interesting outline of the pros and cons of an initiative in Italy which offers migrants from sub-Saharan Africa –…
October 2017
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…
July 2017
One week after this issue launched, the 2017 National Summit on Volunteer Leadership Engagement began in St. Paul, Minn. A special track at the summit convened a group of funders (public and private foundations and other donors) who met with volunteer resources managers and…
July 2017
Imagine teen volunteers in a healthcare setting. Admit it: Your first impression probably centered on teenagers pushing carts, delivering flowers or books, or escorting therapy dogs to patients’ rooms. But in the Medical Center Health System in Odessa, Texas, teenagers did…
October 2017
Editor-in-Chief Susan J. Ellis met “DR CurlyBubbe” a year ago in the parking garage at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania (HUP) as Ellis arrived for one of her weekly chemotherapy visits. DR CurlyBubbe, a/k/a Esther Gushner, was hard to miss, what with her bright…
July 2017
We know that teenagers can make wonderful volunteers. With their ideas, energy, and willingness to contribute to their communities, they are a rich and sometimes untapped volunteer force for many organizations.
But how should adults approach working with teens? What unique…
July 2017
Like the proverbial phoenix that rises from the ashes, George Washington Carver Senior High School rose from the ravages of Hurricane Katrina. Over the decade since the storm, the community has seen the emergence of a new brand of school and a different way of teaching—along…
July 2017
Being outdoors is, for many people, one of the great pleasures in life. Whether out in wide open spaces, walking in hills and mountains, or navigating the crashing waves at the seashore, contact with the natural environment is good for us. Except, that is, for when it isn’t,…
July 2017
If you Google it, there are 10 times the number of articles on “volunteer recruitment” than “volunteer retention.” With the number of volunteers declining nationally, understanding the dynamics and rates of volunteer retention for different groups of volunteers is crucial.
In…
July 2017
The disappointment began with a simple question: What are the significant issues facing volunteer managers today? And when the answers mimicked the exact same responses from 10 years before, volunteer management expert and Points of View co-author Rob Jackson’s heart sank:…
July 2017
More people want to volunteer today than ever before. As practitioners, we recognize that it’s important to not just make volunteer opportunities more accessible but to also make them more personalized.
While some of us have yet to adopt a web-based approach to recruiting and…
April 2017