Policy Development

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April Hot Topic: Common Sense and Volunteer Involvement

Submitted by Susan J Ellis
on Sun, 04/01/2012 - 00:00

Energize gets asked a lot of questions about volunteers that would never be posed in relation to paid staff. Susan shares some examples of illogic, overreaction, and unthinking policies that hinder volunteer success.

Are You Putting Volunteers in Harm’s Way?

Submitted by Susan J Ellis
on Fri, 01/06/2012 - 21:58

The U.S. Peace Corps announced in late December that they would be suspending volunteer efforts in Honduras and other countries because of increased security concerns.  It’s not uncommon to hear reports from organizations such as the Peace Corps that they must place the safety of their volunteers above program service goals.  

Ask-an-Author: Policies on Reference Checks

Submitted by Lindsay Liprando
on Wed, 10/14/2009 - 00:00

Here’s the second in a series of questions submitted by our readers and answered by volunteerism and risk management expert Linda Graff (read the first post, on Risk Management and the Swine Flu, here).

The Question:
I am continually updating our volunteer policies. I have been researching the pros and cons of doing written reference checks for volunteers. At a workshop I attended a few years ago, a lawyer recommended the written check over a telephone check for some types of volunteer work. I cannot find any documents to support this view. What is your opinion on this matter?

Linda’s Answer:

I favour telephone based reference checks. I detail the reasons in my book, Beyond Police Checks, but briefly, here, my sense is the referees will be incline to be more candid and spontaneous, and divulge more pertinent information verbally by telephone than they would in writing. Take good notes, date and sign them, and keep them on file.

Book Excerpt: Volunteers in the American Revolution

Submitted by Lindsay Liprando
on Tue, 07/07/2009 - 00:00

In honor of the just-passed American July 4th holiday, here are excerpts from the first chapter of the book, By the People: A History of Americans as Volunteers, by Susan J. Ellis and Katherine H. Campbell. It’s easy to forget the critical role volunteers played in the fight for independence, so what better time to remember? (For our friends to the north – you can read about the history of volunteering in Canada in this free PDF.)

There were a number of ways that the average citizen could play an active part in the growing rebellion. Economic pressure on England was an important weapon. The Boston Tea Party was but one of many citizen efforts. Though the colonists had grown dependent upon the goods of the mother country, boycotts of British products were attempted, usually successfully, all over the colonies…

After the Stamp Act, colonists resolved to abstain from buying and using such diverse items as loaf sugar, coaches and carriages of all types, imported hats, gold and silver lace

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