Volunteering Without White Saviourism

How do we volunteer – and involve volunteers in our programs – without falling into the saviourism trap, a concept that rears its ugly head when volunteers feel that we can come in and “fix” the problems of a group or community that we don’t belong to? In this highly personal, revealing and perhaps controversial feature story, author Karen Knight, a long-time volunteer recruitment and engagement consultant, focuses on what she calls “White saviourism” because it’s the most “egregious form.” Knight, who identifies as White and as a “recovering racist,” outlines the “difficult, painful” truth of her racism, interspersed with the history of racism and saviourism. She concludes with five steps to help avoid saviourism in volunteerism, and calls on Volunteer Engagement leaders to run programs without it.