Philosophy of Volunteerism

I remember trying to recruit church volunteers for regular, one-to-one visits with jail inmates. I wasn't having much luck, until I realized that my broader, "real" or "true" goal was not one-to-one visits. It was, instead, providing healthy outside contact and influence for inmates and possibly, too, friends outside when they did get out of jail. Once I realized this, it was easy to see that pairs or small groups of volunteers could visit with one inmate and achieve the same goal - maybe better. On that basis, I started getting plenty of volunteers. Good people who were probably somewhat uneasy about solo visits in an unfamiliar and quite threatening environment, could now stand "back to back," so to speak

I also remember a group trying unsuccessfully to get a grant to buy playground equipment for a community park. Finally getting un-fixated on the grant method - children can't play on grants - they realized that a combination of community fundraising and donated equipment might do the trick - and it did.

Research years ago showed a very high turnover rate among Coordinators of Volunteers -- the figure I remember is one out of three leaving the field every two or three years (though often staying in the same organization). It was a substantial percentage, anyhow, and I expect it still is.

Four or five years ago, I became part of that statistic -- though after thirty-five rather than three years in our fulfilling and fascinating field. Learning of my retirement from organized volunteerism, a friend and colleague, whose initials are Susan Ellis, observed:

"You can't retire from volunteerism" (that is, it isn't possible) because you can take a person out of volunteerism, but you can't take volunteerism out of a person.'"

"Just watch me," says I, (silently but sincerely).

On December 1-3, 2000, the Planned arenthood Federation of America (http://www.ppfa.org) convened its first conference for those staff members responsible for volunteer program management at the affiliate level. They formed a new group called "PPNOVA": Planned Parenthood Network of Volunteer Advocates. While PPFA started from a volunteer base (remember Margaret Sanger and the pioneering birth-control efforts of her supporters), over time their focus has shifted to services provided by paid staff. At this point in their development, PPFA wants to revitalize volunteer contributions at every level of the organization, finding new ways to recruit and involve volunteers who believe in PPFA's mission.

The opening speaker for the PPNOVA conference was Mary Shallenberger, chair of the PPFA National Board. Several guest speakers in the audience were stunned at the clarity of thought and the level of determination evident in Mary's presentation. Never had we heard someone in her key position speak so eloquently about the importance of volunteer involvement. Even more amazing was that, on behalf of the National Board, she shared several concrete benefits local affiliates would get if they joined the effort to expand volunteerism at PPFA. This was indeed "putting your money where your mouth is."

Mary generously agreed to be interviewed briefly for this issue of e-Volunteerism. We specifically asked her to repeat how her board was tangibly encouraging local affiliates to hire volunteer program coordinators and to make volunteers visible and valued.

Please note we intend for our audiotape quality to improve over time. This was our first attempt using new equipment and a novice technician, Susan Ellis! There is a bit more background noise than we would have liked, but at least you know we were really there at the conference.

The future of volunteer management as a profession is a hot topic on both sides of the Atlantic, if not in other parts of the world. As evidence, consider the fact that the inaugural issue (Fall 2000) of e-Volunteerism featured several articles dealing with this subject.

If our field is to have a future that managers of volunteers sign up to, then those of us working in these roles must engage in the debates taking place around us. This requires an ability to plainly convey where our field is now to clearly articulate a vision of the future.

Here lies the issue I wish to address.

It is almost preordained that keynote speakers and casual essayists, when asked to address the topic of volunteering in the United States, will eventually quote Alexis de Tocqueville, the famous Frenchman who keenly observed American life and then wrote Democracy in America, published in France in 1835 and 1840. Ask anyone what he said, and you'll hear some variation of "America is a nation of joiners." Since de Tocqueville wrote in French, whether or not he actually used this phrase may be buried in translation, but his extensive commentary on early nineteenth century life is absorbing reading even in the 21st century.

I first read Democracy in America in 1976 when Katie Noyes Campbell and I were researching the first edition of By the People: A History of Americans as Volunteers. I was impressed then and am even more impressed today. In rereading the book to prepare for this "Voices from the Past" article, I was struck by how clairvoyant many of de Tocqueville's observations seem. If you are so inclined, I urge you to read -- even skim -- Democracy in America. Among other things, it delineates why there are similarities and differences in civic participation between the United States and various countries in Europe. It is not an uncritical work, either. As you'll see below, de Tocqueville tried to be as objective as possible.

One of our most significant problems as a profession is that we cannot find each other. It is difficult to speak to or for a constituency we can't always find. We don't always know where to throw our pearls of wisdom and we don't usually have the kind of numbers (of professionals, that is) that impress politicians, funding sources, the media, or others we need to educate or to whom we need to advocate. Finally there are a lot more professionals out there to whom leadership could be listening or from whom leadership could be learning. So how do we find ourselves and then mobilize our forces?

My experience in organized volunteerism is mainly in North America and that is what this article is about. I believe this is an important segment of organized volunteerism but am fully aware the experience of other nations is equally important and I'd like to hear about that in order to learn from both the similarities and the differences.