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August 13, 2008
What to Expect from a Volunteer Program
Thousands of volunteers with all kinds of different skills sets were needed for the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. The Paralympics in September will also need volunteers. Have you ever considered volunteering with the Olympic or Paralympic programs if the Olympics are coming to your part of the world? Canada will host the 2010 Winter Olympics in Whistler, British Columbia and London, England will host the 2012 summer games. If you live in those areas there may be many opportunities for you to help out, increase your social networks and make a new friend or two or perhaps even find a job lead.
If you have a special skill such as speaking a second, third, or fourth language it may make you a very needed volunteer who can translate for visitors to your community. Or perhaps volunteering within the refugee or new immigrant center, helping to make newcomers to the country feel welcomed and acknowledged as well as you being one of the first persons to introduce them to a new and sometimes strange culture. I think each of us has experienced being "new" or "the different kid/adult" in the room and can probably empathize with how refugees or new immigrants feel.
I know that in developing and implementing workshops for various groups, having a volunteer who could sign was not only helpful but saved me money not having to employ an ASL interpreter, which can be very expensive if you have a smaller budget. The skill or talent you don't think is all that important may indeed be vitally important to a volunteer manager or someone in your social network and you're the only one who can fill that niche.
In her book "A foot in the Door" Katharine Hansen lists the very best contacts for new and recent graduates. I think she was thinking permanent jobs but they might also make interesting contacts for volunteering opportunities as well.
For the new college graduate, just about anyone associated with your college experience can form the foundation of a solid (social) network. The cream of the crop include:
- Your classmates;
- Alumni, especially recent grads from the college, junior college or university you attended;
- Professors, especially your advisor;
- Fraternity brothers or Sorority sisters or other Greek Organizations;
- Administrators from your college, junior college or university;
- Coaches;
- Guest speakers who have come to speak to you in classes or organizations you belong to;
- Current or former employees;
- Members of your religious community;
- Members of professional organizations such teacher association, society of professional engineers, nursing associations etc.;
- Other people you may have volunteered with;
- Chamber of commerce or Business Associations;
- Political campaigns;
- Talking to people on air planes;
- Weddings;
- Cocktail parites;
- Conventions or trade shows;
- Book clubs;
- Continuing education programs;
- College conferences;
- Newspapers, business publications; and
- Online discussion groups on the Net
These are also helpful for anybody who may have been downsized or wants to change to a second or third career.
Volunteer opportunities are indeed everywhere if you look for them knowing your skills, passions, and strengths.
Just because a job is not for pay does not mean that it will be easy to get. This week's eSight feature article discusses some of the hurdles you may face and what you will need to work effectively as a volunteer.
Read What to Expect from a Volunteer Program.
Just being friendly to people can be the start of an opportunity to volunteer or perhaps find a permanent job.
As a student in my late teens and twenties I volunteered on a few municipal, provincial and federal political campaigns. About ten years later my volunteering in campaigns lead to a call from the chief constituency assistant of my particular MP in Ottawa, would I come and work for him locally in his office, helping to write his speeches, co-ordinate events, help with constituents' concerns, which I did for ten months. It was an interesting experience but it also made me realize I didn't have the stomach for the thrust and jab and sometimes cruelty of working in and around politics.
This year, with the elections going on in the US and possibly an election in Canada this fall, might be the perfect opportunity for you. Not only to get involved helping your favorite candidate get elected but offering your skills as a volunteer for the campaign and perhaps making a few new contacts. Who knows what could develop later on?
One more story, one about just being friendly on an airplane which got me a cook's tour of the Vancouver aquarium eighteen years ago. I was sitting beside an older woman, who I found out was a marine biologist for the Vancouver aquarium. I was on my way to a cruise to Alaska right after the Exxon Valdez spill and she and I were talking about the damage to the animals and birds and the habitat. She said, give me a call when you come back to Vancouver and I'll take you to the aquarium.
I got to see the ins and outs of the aquarium that the public would never see, almost my own Nature episode and in the process got to help bathe a few of the sea otters who had been endangered as the Vancouver aquarium had been entrusted with helping them get clean and ensuring their survival.
I also got a little insight into the kindness and sensitivity of killer whales and dolphins. As I was walking along the edge of the tank, the trainer stopped and asked if I had some kind of a disability and I said oh I'm legally blind and I guess you've notice my balance problems. He said, well I did but a bunch of the whales and dolphins have too, turn around and look. And there were the orcas with a baby in tow and the dolphins following me around whenever I moved. No, it wasn't that I had fish or smelled like fish, that was my first thought too. The trainer explained that the orcas and dolphins always spotted visitors who had disabilities before the trainers did and wanted to be around them to protect them.
Without talking to the marine biologist on the plane, I'd probably never been able to get inside the Vancouver aquarium in that way and it also fostered a love of orcas and dolphins in me that is still with me today 18 years later.
A chance meeting or a volunteer experience can lead to who knows what, if you're open to the opportunities all around you and willing to give them a try.
In our conversation this week let's identify the following:
What were the most important qualities of the best managed volunteer program you've encountered so far in your education or your career?
Add your comments to this posting
Posted by Liz Seger at August 13, 2008 10:47 AM
Comments
Liz, Framing response bit differently, "Best Characteristics" of organizations for which I've contributed knowledge, skills and abilities include:
-Challenge individuals to explore and find their niche to optimize their contributions.
-Are willing to allow the individual to explore their service options to optimize their experience and contributions.
-Coach/mentor the individual to provide a "Learning Experience" that challenges their knowledge, skills and abilities (KSA's).
Ideally, the gains one receives from "Community/Volunteer Service" gives the individual a sense of value added to their life once they've completed their interaction with the organization/entity.
Posted by: James J. Elekes, M.Ed, MPA, CPM at August 13, 2008 07:07 PM
Interesting stories, Liz.
The best managed volunteer program I’ve had the privilege to experience is the local chapter of the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC).
Operating under clear guidelines and a code of conduct from its headquarters in San Francisco, the IABC chapter in Madison, WI, attracted top local business communicators to participate in the organization. Members with leadership experience volunteered to head chapter committees and serve on the chapter board.
I served as chapter program chair, newsletter editor and board member at various times during my 40 years of being an IABC member. I gained governance experience and visibility within the 13,000-member international professional association.
As one of only a handful of members with a disability, I was always impressed by the accessibility of the annual conventions held throughout the U.S. and the world.
In 1995, I became an Accredited Business Communicator (achieved by about five percent of the IABC membership) largely through the help of fellow local and regional members, who knew me through my volunteer work and attendance in my local chapter.
So, select a well-managed volunteer program -- even if it's a large, international professional association. A top-notch volunteer program will help you become a key player in the organization, even though you may limit your involvement to the local level.
Posted by: Jim Hasse at August 14, 2008 11:18 AM