Today’s post comes from Chelsea Martin at Volunteer Centers of Michigan.

It was going to be a regional meeting in Atlanta during the month of October… but hurricane Sandy hand other plans.  So come February, I headed to Los Angeles for the regional affiliate meeting. I’d spent the previous few months on calls with other network members and HandsOn (HON) staff thinking about the meeting content and how to make it a useful gathering. The planning calls gave network members the chance to give input on what was important to discuss when convening and how it could be structured. Repeatedly, those on the call said networking time with other Volunteer Centers was critical- having the opportunity to listen and share was a big reason why members attend the regional meetings. Turns out those individuals were right.

Attending the meeting was a great opportunity to represent the Volunteer Centers of Michigan network and talk about all the great work going on in our communities throughout the state of Michigan.  Even better, I got to hear about the amazing programs, innovative organizational structures, and implementation of new initiatives in other Volunteer Centers around the country. Network members wanted to hear about our work in Michigan and I was excited to hear about their role in the community.

During the sessions and networking time, it became clear there are more than a few inspiring things happening and network members are truly facilitating change in local communities. Among all of the sharing of ideas there was a common theme of change for Volunteer Centers. Change in the funding climate. Change in leadership. Change in how community members want to be engaged. Through all the talk of programming, sustainability, and transition at the gathering, three topics really stood out to me:

1.      Innovation takes time and capacity.

HON supports a cohort of Volunteer Centers who serve as innovation hubs (ihub).  Each ihub focuses on finding different ways to use volunteers to tackle community challenges.  At the gathering we got an update about ihubs and the work they are doing. The idea of giving a Volunteer Center the time, community, and a little capacity to think creatively about developing projects and programs is exciting. These incubator centers are trying out ideas to strengthen not only their center but so that those new programs can be adopted or adapted by other centers across the country.

I think the ihub model is a unique way to help move the network forward. It helped me to think about how this same model (on a smaller scale) could be used by a local center to help develop innovative programs or strategies for meeting their community’s critical needs. It is important to take the time to develop a space to think deeply and differently about Volunteer Center programming to help keep up with the changing world.

2.      Creative programs help engage more volunteers.

The affiliate gathering offered the venue to discuss the different programming currently taking place at centers. It was interesting to hear about the different strategies being used to engage more volunteers. Centers continue to be creative with their programs in an attempt to grow a volunteer base and keep those volunteers engaged. Not all the ideas are new but some are new to a particular Volunteer Center.

A couple very cool ideas stuck with me after I returned from the meeting. In communities with a lot of newcomers, the idea of using volunteering as a way to get to know the city has proven successful. In cities where people have short amounts of time to give micro-volunteering has been a way to tap new volunteers. There is also an incredible movement to partner with local companies to utilize their employees as both skilled volunteers and to give their time as a group on a specific project.  While this idea is not new it seems to be gaining traction in more communities and with more companies. Partnering with companies is a way to leverage volunteers and has developed into a revenue stream for Volunteer Centers.

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• .      Have your ID. Have equipment that works. Engage all sectors.

Karen Baker, California’s Secretary for Service and Volunteering, joined the gathering and gave an engaging key note that had most of us in the audience laughing and nodding in agreement. She emphasized the need for Volunteer Centers to have a clear brand and to invest in the organization’s reputation. It is critical for people to know who a Volunteer Center is and what it means to the community. Baker told the group that Volunteer Centers need to have the right equipment in order to succeed. She explained that the right equipment includes having a supportive board and the right staff to deliver on the organization’s reputation. Lastly, Baker highlighted the importance of engaging all sectors including public organizations like government, private business, and individuals. Engagement of all sectors helps stabilize an organization by diversifying the type of supporters and positions the Volunteer Center to be a leader in the community.

Participating on the planning team calls and making the trip to the gathering was an excellent experience and offered context to the work being lead by Volunteer Centers around the country. The mix of causal networking, structured sessions, and inspiring speakers lends itself to an increased appreciation of the network’s efforts and helped me consider how to move the work forward in Michigan.

What does the future hold for volunteering?

Longer working lives, economic uncertainty, combined with an easier way to find out about volunteering opportunities means that the face of volunteering could change in the future.

Since the economic downturn hit both the US and the UK economies in 2007/8, the rate of volunteering has declined on both sides of the Atlantic.

Statistics show that the rate of volunteering declined by 0.3 per cent to 26% for the year ending September 2012 in the US. Official stats from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics show that about 64.5 million people volunteered at least once between September 2011 and September 2012. Despite the decline, it is still 1 in 4 of the population that volunteers.

Women continue to be more active volunteers than men. This is the case regardless of age, education or other demographic characteristics.

 

In terms of age it is those aged between 35 and 44 that are more likely to volunteer; here it accounts to nearly 1 in 3 *33.6%). The younger 20- 24 year old generation are the least likely to volunteer (18.9%). Those aged 16- 19 had a volunteer rate of 27.4%.

Interestingly when it comes to education, those volunteers aged 25 and over are likely to be college graduates. In fact, 42.2% of them are likely to be graduates compared to just 8.8% that have a high school diploma.

How does the US volunteer sector compare to the UK?

The results do throw up some interesting comparisons with the UK.

In the UK too, volunteering rates have declined slightly in recent years too. But that figure is still close to 25% of the population volunteering. Volunteering adds close to £21.5billion to the UK economy.

Interestingly too, while the numbers may be falling slightly in terms of overall volunteer levels in both the US and the UK, the level of interest in volunteering is actually growing. Of course, there are plenty of ways to volunteer in 2013 and the internet means there is no excuse for reviewing your options thoroughly.

Economic Uncertainty and Volunteering

There is more unemployment, particularly among younger generations. People are interested in using their time more carefully and productively. Young people who cannot find a job are keen to gain new skills; they see volunteering as a good way to do this. While older workers, perhaps with free time on their hands for the first time since leaving full time education, take up volunteering when they are in between jobs. They are keen to give something back.

Could this be the future for volunteering?

Many people struggle with long term volunteering commitments these days, with work and family pressure often seeming to take up all of our time. Of course, for those who find the time, the benefits of this type of volunteering are enormous.

But demand for short term volunteering options could see an increased rise in one-off activities or for short term ‘micro-volunteering’ reasons.

As people live longer on both sides of the Atlantic and more and more of us are likely to take career breaks and ‘time outs’ over the course of our lives, there is a real opportunity here for volunteering to grow into something that is part and parcel of society; part of the ‘rituals’ and milestones of our lives.

Today, when a busy executive takes a year out to volunteer we view it as very worthy, but a bit out of the ordinary. Admit it; we do a bit, don’t we?

It’s how many students who took a gap year to go travelling were viewed in the 1950s and 1960s, but now it’s considered normal. Imagine if volunteering became that normal?

Volunteering as Part of Our Lives

Something that all of us did at regular intervals throughout our lives – committing ourselves to volunteer for a matter of months or even years. With all of us having to work longer into old age we need to realise that we are going to be at work for the long haul – so why not pull over and give something back, while enriching your own and other people’s lives in the process.

It’s something I’m considering doing next year perhaps. In the US I would certainly think about joining the Hands on Network as I like the ethos of the organisation (plus the informative blog!); it is similar to volunteering with the Army Cadets in the UK in that they look to inspire people to develop within themselves and instills the qualities needed to be a good citizen. I have read quite a lot of inspiring stories about the ACF, largely the significant increase in developing a selfless and productive way of life. If that’s not worth a bit of my time, I’m not sure what is! I’ll review my options this year, so please let me know what you think?

Dale Lovell is a journalist and blogger from the UK, who has spent considerable time in the US in the past. A former editor he now specialises in writing about future trends, publishing and volunteerism.

 

Today’s post comes from Deva-Dee Siliee, Co-founder Curaçao Cares

Curaçao Cares is the first of its kind volunteer and project management organization in Curaçao, a Dutch-Caribbean island. Curaçao is well known for its beautiful capital Willemstad that is on the UNESCO Heritage List, for its beaches, and of course for its blue liqueur. The island received country status within the Kingdom of the Netherlands in 2010 after the dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles, meaning that Curaçaoans would still keep a Dutch nationality, but that we would have autonomy over our internal affairs. After a transition period with many constitutional changes, we are now trying to stand on our own feet and build a nation in the face of great challenges; a dire financial situation, a dormant economy, poverty and school drop-out rates that are concerning, continuous brain-drain as a result of emigration, and perhaps most unfortunately, a lack of social cohesion.

The decision to found Curaçao Cares concretely took shape in the summer of 2011, when I was sitting around the coffee table with Lysayé de Windt and family members that were visiting New York, talking about Curaçao and about what we as individuals could do to contribute to the sustainable development of our beloved island. Lysayé and I reflected on the fact that as young adults privileged enough to have traveled and lived in different countries, we were so much more active in making other communities a better place to live in than our own.

I had just graduated Columbia University with a degree in Political Science and Human Rights. Though at a young age I had spent time volunteering to teach dance at my high school in Curaçao as well as in different foster homes, my real dedication to volunteering started while living in NY. I volunteered at New York Cares Days, spent some Saturdays instructing conflict resolution to elementary students in New York City public schools, and organizing seminars for High school students from underprivileged areas to raise awareness on public and international affairs. I also volunteered in Tanzania in 2008 and had a transformative experience teaching male juvenile detainees.

Lysayé also grew up attending and volunteering at Rotary and Inner Wheel events with her family, as her parents were both part of these organizations. In 2005, she had a life-changing experience studying abroad with the Semester at Sea program, visiting 10 countries, among others: Venezuela, Brazil, South Africa, India, Myanmar, Vietnam, Hong Kong, Japan. While abroad, she volunteered in the many countries with numerous local NGOs. Though her experiences in each country were relatively short, she observed the importance of the organizations and the positive impact they had on the local communities. After a few years working in the financial sector in New York and Amsterdam, she pursued her dream and established her own photography/visual communication and concept development company in Curaçao.

On that faithful afternoon we established that many people that would want to flexibly give their time, talent and skills in Curaçao, might also be asking how and where they can get more involved, but like us encountered that this information is hard to come by. We had witnessed how New York Cares had made community service accessible to millions of people from all walks of life in New York. “We must find a way to make this happen on an island of 150.000 people”, we thought. There is a lot of human capital and goodwill that is underutilized because there is no platform that can bridge the gap and manage connections.

As a new HandsOn affiliate, our mission is aligned with that of the network; to inspire and mobilize individuals to seek active citizenship through flexible engagement in meaningful service projects, and to create and manage flexible but sustainable volunteer projects in partnership with individuals, corporations, and non-profit/social organizations. Through volunteerism, we hope to foster understanding and facilitate crucial exchanges between citizens, in order to elevate the quality of life on the island and create a greater sense of community.

Curaçao Cares was officially established in October 2012, so it is still in a cocoon, but we are making strides. In this start-up phase, we are focusing on reaching out to community partners to understand their needs and the possibilities. On the other hand, we are working on building partnerships with corporate partners to create and implement corporate volunteer projects as part of a comprehensive CSR policy. Starting with the corporate community is important to see us through financially, since there are not many other ways to get subsidy. We are happy to announce that we already confirmed a three-year founding partnership with three large companies! For a fourth company, we are already working on an exciting photography project with a local special needs school.

We want to thank Points of Light and the HandsOn Network for their support and the wealth of knowledge that we have already received. We look forward to sharing our story and contributing to the growth of the network.