Newspapers / Philanthropy Journal of North … / May 1, 1994, edition 1 / Page 8
Part of Philanthropy Journal of North Carolina (Raleigh, N.C.) / About this page
This page has errors
The date, title, or page description is wrong
This page has harmful content
This page contains sensitive or offensive material
Volunteers 8 Philanthropy Journal of North Carolina Volunteer value Estimated value of volunteer time ■ in 1991: $176 biUion, compared with $170 billion in 1989. May 1994 Coming of age Volunteers have more skills, less free time It used to be that volunteers stuffed envelopes and answered telephone for nonprofits. Increasingly, however, volun teers at organizations large and small provide services to clients, write materials and basically help run the organiza tion. By Katherine Noble A t the Center for Peace Ed- ucation in downtown Carr- / \ boro, Brett Eckerman coordinates the activities of the edn- cational nonprofit’s many volunteers, recruiting newcomers, matching peo- ple’s interests with projects and supervising activities. He’s also a volunteer himself. The center, which has a single full-time employee, relies heavily on members of the community who sup port its mission of educating young people and adults on conflict resolu tion skills, nonviolent communication and diversity awareness. “To a large extent, volunteers are this organization,” Eckerman says. Volunteers help with everything from preparing educational materials for conflict resolution workshops, to fundraising and publicity. Volunteers used to perform cleri cal and supportive tasks for nonprof its. But that’s changing. The Center tor Peace Education isn’t alone in relying on volunteers for important functions. Volunteers are more active than before, says Jim Drummond, volun teer coordinator at the Volunteer Center in Asheville. For example, he says, several agencies in Asheville employ volunteers as advocates for victims of sexual abuse, child abuse and domestic violence. In some cases, the volunteers play an active role in court. “Nonprofits, just like our tor-prof it folks, are having to run much meaner and leaner, and nonprofits were already pretty much thread bare in staffs,” he says. As a conse quence, “we rely even more on volim- teers.” Nonprofits serve as vocational training centers for volunteers. The agencies also benefit from the pro fessional skills Individuals bring, skills a nonprofit often can’t afford to buy. But tight budgets aren’t the only reason nonprofits employ volunteers. The Center for Peace Education, for example, sees community involve ment as integral to its educational goals. “Community outreach and volim- teer involvement is one very impor tant part of our philosophy of how we improve communication,” Eckerman says. Donna Buzzard, director of the Volunteer Center of Orange County, says that’s a philosophy that can be helpful to many community-based nbnprofits. Volunteers can help a nonprofit stay in touch with, and reflect, its community, she says. “If you have a diversified volun teer base and listen to the volunteers and encourage them to voice their opinions, then you can do a better job of making sure that your services reflect the needs of the community.” But as volunteers increasingly are service providers, advocates or communications specialists, manag ing and recruiting the free labor becomes more compMcated. At the Central North Carolina Chapter of the American Red Cross in Durham, Christa Eaves, volunteer services director, works with the organization’s 503 active volunteers on a regular basis, doing screening, orientation and placement. It’s also her job to keep the volun teers happy — and motivated. Eaves makes sure volunteers are recog nized for their contribution to the organization, and reminded of the important role they play. She regularly recognizes volun teers with telephone calls, personal letters and certificates of apprecia tion. She rewards them with service pins, patches and plaques. And she reinforces the importance of their role with frequent evaluations. At the Thompson Children’s Home in Charlotte, Gay Morgan, director of volunteer services, says volunteers work directly with the abused and neglected children who live there, tutoring them in school, being an adult “special friend” and even bringing a child home for visits during holidays and other special occasions. Because volunteers work closely with young children, background Volunteers repair and paint a toy box on a playground at a daycare center in Cary. According to the independent Sector, 94.2 million Americans volunteered an average of 4.2 hours per week in 1991. File photo checks are run on each applicant. Volunteers also go through an exten sive interview process. In Durham, volunteers at the Caring House work directly with the residents, adults who are undergoing cancer treatment at Duke University. The facility operates with just two paid staffers. Executive Director Nancy Laszlo says about 25 volunteers work in three-hour shifts each day and evening, checking in residents, help ing them find their way around Durham and Duke, and most impor tant, talking with and providing emo tional support to residents and their families. The nonprofit makes a training investment in each volunteer, but Laszlo says the volunteers make the effort worthwhile. They help keep the attitude at the Caring House upbeat and positive, she says. She wouldn’t replace the volunteers with profession's even if the organization could afford them. “The guests say one of the strong points of being here is the wonderful volimteers.” Christy Greeson, executive direc tor of the Voluntary Action Center in Greensboro, says volunteers for the most part are changing faster than nonprofits can keep up with them. “We’re seeing the dynamics of voluntarism change rapidly,” she says, “and it’s changing from the per spective of the volunteer faster than it’s changing from the perspective of the agency. “They’re still thinking about vol unteers as they did 20 years ago.” Twenty years ago, for example, more women stayed home raising children, which meant the mother and the rest of the family had more time to volunteer. Most nonprofits haven’t tailored volunteer activities to the needs of famUies where both parents work outside the home, Greeson says. “K we want to increase the num ber of volunteers who are in their childbearing years,” says Buzzard of Orange County, “then we must have opportunities that don’t make a par ent choose between spending time with family or volunteering.” Greeson says nonprofits need to devise weekend, monthly or even occasional volunteer opportunities that could include the whole family. Helping a nonprofit with a clean up project as a family, or working once a month at the soup kitchen gives parents a chance to spend time with their children. Md it also gives parents a chance to show their chil dren the value of community service. Volunteering, says Greeson, can be a real “quality-time” activity. Maturing volunteers Seniors are in “or charity By Katherine Noble Adults over 50 are a large and growing segment of the pop ulation. According to a recent study, they’re also a segment of the population that is ripe tor volunteering. The recently released report. Senior Citizens as Volunteers, is chock-full of information about senior citizens and their volun teer activities based on an Independent Sector 1992 survey of volunteering and giving. Among the survey’s findings: • 45 percent of people 60 to 75 years old volunteer an aver age of 4.4 hours per week; 27 percent of those 75 and older also volunteer. • Seniors who work part-time are more likely to volunteer than the fully retired person; • Seniors tend to remain in their volunteer positions longer than younger volunteers. • 87 percent of senior volun teers surveyed said they volun teer because it is important to help others. Unlike younger people, seniors don’t volunteer, to learn new skills or make contacts. In stead, religious beliefs and a feel ing of obligation to help others are primary motivations for senior volunteers. According to the report, the most active volunteers have strong religious commitments. They also had a volunteer role model during their youth. Kathy Mangum, director of the Retired Senior Volunteer Program in Chapel Hill, says more than 600 senior volimteers contributed 65,000 hours of vol unteer service through RSVP in 1993. Last year, the 20-year-old organization celebrated its one millionth volunteer hour. “If it weren’t for these volun teers,” Mangum says, “many of our nonprofit agencies wouldn’t exist.” For copies of the report, call Independent Sector pubUcations at (301) 490-3229. Hospice honors its heroes The Center of Living Hospice in Asheboro sponsored a Volunteer Appreciation Dinner in March to thank volunteers for sharing their talents with patients, staff and families. During 1993, volunteers donated 9,752 hours and drove 61,353 miles, saving the hospice $79,972. Students point YMCA in Jamaica Twenty students in the Uni versity of North Carolina at Wilmington's Global Volun teers program recently trav eled to Montego Bay, Ja maica, to paint a YMCA. Global Volunteers is a ser vice organization co-spon sored by the UNC-W Lea dership Center and United Christian Campus Ministries. Clinic expands services to poor Eighty-one volunteers have staffed Surry Medical Ministries in Mount Airy since it opened in October 1993, providing $11,000 in volun tary services. The clinic recently received a $40,000 grant from Kate B. Reynolds Gharitable Trust to expand its medical services. Volunteers needed for concession stand The AIDS Service Agency is recruiting concession stand volunteers for performances at Walnut Creek Amphithe atre and Durham Bulls games. Sessions range from four to eight hours each. A portion of the sales receipts is donated to the AIDS Ser vice Agency. Call Stephanie Treadway, 467-2177. Foster parents in demand Single people and couples are needed to be foster parents for children in Wake County who have been abandoned, abused or neglected. Methodist Home for Children provides training and other services, through its Specialized Foster Care Program, for people who care for children with physical and emotional needs. Services include a 24-hour support and consultation line and ini tial and ongoing training. Without the foster care program, many of these children, some of whom have been sexually abused, would not be able to live in a home environment. Methodist Home for Children has 62 licensed and trained foster families for these children in Goldsboro, Raleigh, Wilmington and surrounding areas. Call (919) 828-0345, ext. 115.
Philanthropy Journal of North Carolina (Raleigh, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
May 1, 1994, edition 1
8
Click "Submit" to request a review of this page. NCDHC staff will check .
0 / 75