Engage Library

This edition of Along the Web focuses on a miscellaneous set of new and interesting publications on volunteering.  Included are trends in volunteering, employee volunteering, disaster volunteers, immigrant volunteers, and a miscellany of other interesting things.

After more than a decade of promoting virtual volunteering or online service as an important new development (which it is) for the volunteer field, it's time to step back and look at what is really happening as organizations put the theory into practice.  Yvonne D. Harrison,…

What does a canned meat product called SPAM™ have to do with volunteer recruitment?  In this article, the authors explore the answer to this question by reviewing the key steps in volunteer recruitment, a process that helps remind an organization that it needs not only a clear…

In December 2005, an assault on three volunteer surf lifesavers led to violence and what are now known as 'the Cronulla riots.'  In the aftermath of these events, a number of parties (including the Australian Government, Sutherland Shire Council, Surf Life Saving Australia, Surf…

When news first broke in March that veterans of the Iraq War had received inadequate treatment at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, few people know that a medical center volunteer would soon be credited with bringing the story to light.  In doing so, the volunteer clearly…

As the populations of most developed countries show an increasing proportion of older people, debates have started about how an aging population will be cared for.  For volunteering, this often means how volunteers will be engaged to help care for the elderly.  But this…

When it comes to volunteer training, the secret to success may lie in the approach. In this Training Design, learn how the switch from a problem-focused approach to a strengths-based approach called Appreciate Inquiry can make a huge difference in your volunteer training and…

When it comes to describing volunteers and the volunteer community, attention tends to be focused on social or human services.  In fact, case studies, examples of volunteering, and vocabulary choices disproportionately assume that the volunteers are "solving problems" or "…