Special Settings/Fields

The founding of the American Lung Association is intertwined with the work of many courageous volunteers who began by fighting the dreaded scourge of tuberculosis at the end of the 19th century. Read the stories of Dr. Edward Livingston Trudeau, the first volunteer president of the National Association for the Study and Prevention of Tuberculosis (and himself a victim of the disease), Emily Bissell who created the amazingly-successful Christmas Seal campaign, and other pioneering volunteers.

Ten Thousand Villages, the largest fair trade organization in North America, works to provide vital, fair income to artisans in Africa, Asia and Latin America by marketing their handicrafts and telling their stories. The nonprofit organization has its American headquarters in Akron, Pennsylvania and Canadian headquarters in New Hamburg, Ontario, and relies on a network of volunteers to keep operating costs low and to share its story with consumers. Tens of thousands of artisans benefit from the dedication and involvement of hundreds of volunteers across North America. Whether volunteers pull and pack orders in the warehouse or unpack merchandise and assist customers in a store, they know that their involvement changes artisans’ lives.

One of the most fascinating things about volunteerism throughout history is that it represents the basic human response to "can you help?" It also reflects the culture, values and state of the times in which it occurs. What kinds of things are people willing to do to meet needs outside of their own? What does this tell us about our values? Our worries? Our hopes and fears?

In this issue we will share some of the original ways in which people both ask for volunteers as well as volunteer. We will also invite readers to share their own examples of wild and wonderful volunteer opportunities around the globe!

When I conducted my first workshop in England in 1992, I vividly remember discussing the topic of organizational image. I asked participants how long their organizations had been operating in the community. When one response was "since the Crusades," I knew I wasn't in Kansas anymore! Even by British standards, St. John Ambulance has a remarkable history. Today it is a modern health care organization with members in over 40 countries worldwide. Its roots are in the Order of the Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem, confirmed in 1113. Over the centuries, through the involvement of clergy, medical practitioners, and legions of volunteers, St. John Ambulance has faced the challenge of balancing progress with tradition, the past and the future.

An analysis of the volunteer service and community engagement efforts in eighteen selected Texas state agencies and commissions, with particular examination of their volunteer management practices.

Research for the report, Flying Under the Radar: The Significant Work of All-Volunteer Organizations, was conducted in 1999 in the San Francisco service area of CompassPoint by Cristina Chan, M.P.P., and Sonali Rammohan, C.P.A. Leadership for the study was provided by Jan Masaoka, Executive Director of CompassPoint. I first became aware of the study when I attended a workshop presented by Cristina and Sonali at the 1999 National Community Service Conference. It was very telling that, in a conference of nearly 2,800 participants, there were only about a dozen attendees at this particular workshop. Obviously, not many all-volunteer group representatives were at the conference! When I was discussing the study with CompassPoint Executive Director Jan Masaoka, she used a term that to me describes why the health and well being of all-volunteer groups are so vitally important for our consideration. She called the sub-sector a "fragile ecology" that is little understood and very much under-supported by any of the primary sectors of modern life. This is despite the fact that these groups really create the rich fabric of what we call "community" and bring people together in so many ways. 

Recent events have made the public more aware of the role of volunteers in protecting lives and property during fires and emergencies. Throughout the U.S. and many other countries around the world, communities (particularly small, rural ones) depend on citizens to assume those duties. These volunteer roles demand extensive training, time and commitment. In these days of busy lives and young people leaving their small communities in large numbers, how are these all-volunteer or combination staff-volunteer fire stations faring? This article will examine the issues, and how these programs are adapting to changing times while remaining true to their volunteer roots!

There are many words to describe volunteering and voluntary action, reflecting the many forms of people helping each other survive and prosper over the challenges of their time and place. Whether it is trabalho voluntario in Brazil, benevolat and volontariat in France, gotong royong in Indonesia or harambee in Kenya, supporting each other for mutual survival is a key ingredient to community the world over. In this issue we look at a very ancient, yet still modern, form of community interaction and service to each other that, even though it is no longer extensively practiced, is still is a relevant way for people to be involved in service to each other.

One of the top ongoing issues of most of the all-volunteer groups in the CompassPoint Nonprofit Services’ study featured in the Winter issue of e-Volunteerism was “reaching new members and keeping them involved.” In the world of volunteer management, that translates to “volunteer recruitment, integration and retention.” The goal is the same -- to identify potential individuals who can contribute to the work of the organization, invite them to participate by clearly identifying the benefits of joining, make them feel welcome and give them a way to contribute that is appropriate for them, and then offer ongoing opportunities for growth to keep them motivated and interested. Many volunteer organizations have experienced a decline in membership. In an effort to reverse this trend, several large national and international organizations have put a high priority on membership development. In this issue, we profile some of the membership development strategies of Kiwanis International, the General Federation of Women’s Clubs and Rotary International.