Engage Library

Take a moment to think about your worst job ever. The one you struggled to get out of bed to go to. The one you gleefully left at the end of your shift or the start of your weekend. What job design factors contributed to your dissatisfaction? Was the work boring or repetitive?…

Intrepid Australian volunteer and traveler Louise Rogers writes: Don’t you love travelling? The preparation…the journey…the reflections…the recollections…and ah!...the experiences to be had? I’ve had an amazing journey over the past 25 years, working in the voluntary sector in…

A central issue in the volunteer field has long been the lack of true support for volunteers (and of our professional roles) by organization executives. Oh, there’s been lots of lip service with lavish praise along the lines of “volunteers are the heart of our services.” But…

Three British volunteers founded The National Trust in the UK 1895. In 2013, the Trust celebrated the involvement of over 70,000 volunteers in this conservation charity, one that protects historic places and green spaces while opening them up forever, for everyone. In terms of…

The BBC News Web site reports that the worldwide prison population stands at around nine million, with the U.S., China, and Russia ranked as the three countries with the most prisoners. Together, these three nations imprison half of all the world’s prisoners, with the U.S.…

In this issue's Training Designs, author Terry Straub discusses ways to include and engage volunteers in conversations that build stronger communities.  At the heart of Straub’s discussion are a variety of facilitation tools from “The Art of Hosting and Harvesting Conversations…

Founded in 1901, the Junior League rapidly became the most influential women’s organization in the United States. Today there are also chapters in Canada, Mexico, and the United Kingdom. Its mission statement puts volunteering and women front and center: The Association of…

Organizations use many different approaches to attract and retain volunteers. For instance, one attempt at a macro level is required high school service, which aims in part to inspire large numbers of students to continue with volunteering into their adult lives by having them…