The Uncertain Future of Local Volunteer Centers
Local volunteer centers exist in many countries around the world. Granted, they operate under different names and reflect regional differences in the specific things they do, but all volunteer centers have a surprising number of things in common, such as matching volunteers with organizations or working to develop and promote volunteer opportunities.
While one can find effective and creative volunteer centers in scattered places, authors Rob Jackson and Susan J. Ellis argue, however, that the majority of volunteer centers face an uncertain future. They note that most of these centers have never lived up to their potential, never received adequate funding and staffing, and never developed much visibility in their communities. The big question, the authors wonder, is “Why?”
In this Points of View, Jackson and Ellis look closely at the uncertain future of local volunteer centers, officially opening the debate on the issues and quandaries now confronting this part of the volunteer world.
Australia has seen its share of natural disasters – most notably bushfires and floods – and the surge of spontaneous volunteering each emergency produces. While recent attempts to register volunteers in advance of a disaster are useful, too few are actually activated during an emergency because local officials do not have the resources or skills to coordinate them. In the spring of 2012, with the annual bushfire season right around the corner, Volunteering Victoria, the peak volunteering body for the State of Victoria in Australia, had a simple idea: Why not create a platform that links volunteer program managers across the state in times of emergency?
