Benefits of Volunteering

In its final appearance, Along the Web presents "Impact Susan," a collection of articles about Susan J. Ellis and her lasting impact on the volunteer management profession that appeared around the country following her death in February 2019. Descriptions and links to these publications, online exchanges, and group chats are provided here as Along the Web, which Ellis created, bids farewell.  

"Social prescribing" is a means for tackling poor health without, or alongside, prescribing  pharmaceutical drugs. Schemes for social prescribing cover a wide array of activities and programmes, ranging from physical activities such as dance classes through culture programmes and volunteering.  As research proves that volunteering has a positive impact on mental health, volunteering has become an efficient and increasingly popular way of addressing health and well-being concerns and a part of social prescribing schemes. Participating in volunteering activities in the framework of social prescribing is especially beneficial for patients with mental health issues, and/or suffer from loneliness and isolation, perhaps caused by physical illnesses or other social issues.

In this e-Volunteerism feature, author Gabriella Civico explains how volunteering is an important part of social prescribing schemes for patients. “Social prescribing leads to patients requiring less on-going support and enables them to contribute to an important cause, often continuing to support it even after the prescribed period ends,” she writes. “In this way, social prescribing has a positive impact on society as well as the patients.”  

In this e-Volunteerism feature, the story of volunteers at the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo shows how and why your organization can empower volunteers to help tell your story. As writer Karie Hajek explains, volunteers are often referred to as the “heart” of an organization and represent a crucial, untapped voice that can help organizations embody their mission.

“With strategic attention to incorporating your messaging into your recruiting and training process, you can better equip your volunteers to engage your audience and support your cause,” writes Hajek, who is Volunteer Services Specialist at the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo. “It is through this lens that you can truly see and acknowledge volunteers as an invaluable extension and voice of your organization.” 

Although hundreds of thousands of people volunteer with the National Park Service each year, the agency has been slow to engage volunteers in emergency management. In this feature story by Francis Shawn Bawden, who worked for the NPS for nine years, the lessons learned at Everglades National Park during the preparation, response, and recovery of numerous hurricanes in 2016-2018 provide important recommendations to emergency managers and volunteer coordinators who want to better utilize volunteers during most phases of disasters.

Should volunteer professionals expect to be paid for publishing and presenting? Or is there value in blogging and writing about volunteer management in order to share knowledge with peers in the field?

In this Voices, co-editor Allyson Drinnon explores these questions. She taps into the expertise of e-Volunteerism’s own Rob Jackson, a steadfast proponent of writing to expand the profession who shares they four key reasons he writes and why other volunteer professionals should, too. Drinnon also includes her own thoughts on the subject, with additional comments and insights from volunteer management expert Meridian Swift. 

An increasing number of hospitals and other healthcare environments are now beginning to incorporate integrative health interventions into their settings to meet the stress or symptom management needs of both patients and employees. These practices often include massage, canine visits, art, music, energy healing, guided imagery, essential oils, yoga, and Tai Chi, and work in tandem with mainstream medicine to address everything from patient boredom to emotional distress, physical symptoms of pain, anxiety, and nausea.

While interest in integrative health interventions in hospitals has grown over the last several years, the use of volunteers in these programs has grown, too. And as integrative care expert Cathrine Weaver writes in this issue of e-Volunteerism, there has also been an uptick in the unanticipated need for emotional support and more focused monitoring of volunteers in these programs. “The integrative interventions volunteer role makes great demands on the individual, and these demands can take an emotional toll,” writes Weaver. “Understanding this has helped us see the importance of supporting these volunteers in a different way.”

In this feature story, Weaver explores how to engage volunteers in integrative health programs and how to provide the monitoring behaviors and support they need to maintain their own wellbeing while helping others.

“After 12 years at the helm of a leading faith-based volunteering charity, I have decided to retire.” So writes Leonie Lewis, MBE, who has been Director of the Jewish Volunteering Network (JVN) since its inception in the UK in 2007. Having recently chosen to retire from her role, she reflects in this personal e-Volunteerism essay on the changing trends she has seen in volunteering over the last decade and on how the community can adapt to maximize the impact that volunteers make.

 “I leave with many questions that still need to be asked and many that I’ve hopefully answered through my time with the organization.  Do I leave the charity in a good place? Have I made a difference? And what is my legacy?” In this poignant reflection, Lewis tries to answer her own questions. In the process, she reveals some changes, challenges, and insights into volunteering that will no doubt resonate with the entire profession.

The voices of international hospice and palliative care volunteers come through clearly in a new book, The Changing Face of Volunteering in Hospice and Palliative Care. Published in mid-2018 by Oxford University Press and edited by Ros Scott and Steven Howlett, it presents an international perspective, history, and information on hospice and palliative care through the eyes of different country experts. And it also includes insightful volunteer narratives to illustrate and aid the reader in understanding the volunteers’ perspectives.

In this Voices, co-editor Allyson Drinnon reviews this valuable resource, with a special emphasis on the voices and stories of hospice volunteers that unfold in this publication.