Political Action and Protest

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It’s Déjà vu! The Corporation for National and Community Service Budget Request is Off Track Again

Submitted by Susan J Ellis
on Thu, 02/23/2012 - 20:56

In June 2011, Paula Beugen wrote a guest Hot Topic for Energize titled, “Is the Corporation for National and Community Service on the Right Track for Volunteerism?”  She cogently cautioned that CNCS’ proposed budget was not supportive to the vast majority of volunteer-involving organizations in this country, particularly by the programs they slashed or reduced. We are once again on the brink of eliminating what some of us feel are the most important elements of the 2009 Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act (Serve America Act).

October 23, 2011: International News From the Field

Submitted by Susan J Ellis
on Sun, 10/23/2011 - 00:00

No matter your political persuasion, looking at the Occupy Wall Street movement from a volunteer management perspective is an intriguing exercise. With images in the media of tattoos, piercings, and strange costumes, it’s easy to pooh-pooh protestors as slackers with no direction.  But look again. This uprising has similar features to the volunteer driven origins of many of today’s main stream organizations.

  • Influenced by highly skilled, highly educated volunteer: Every social change action requires someone to get the ball rolling, whether it be the Tea Party, the March of Dimes, or the revolution in Egypt. David Graeber doesn’t claim to be the initial instigator, but he appears  to have laid the “ground rules.” There is also a YouTube video where David Graeber recounts the first night of protest as quite organized and not just “a few college students” getting together and deciding to camp out.
  • Financial structure in place: Funds are managed at a central location by volunteers with

Volunteering and Social Change

Submitted by Lindsay Liprando
on Tue, 02/16/2010 - 00:00

Paul Revere earned his living as a silversmith. But what do we remember him for? His volunteer work. All activism is volunteering in that it’s done above and beyond earning a living and deals with what people really care passionately about. Remember, no one gets paid to rebel. All revolutions start with volunteers.
- Susan J. Ellis

To me, it seems that most people think of words like “advocacy,” and “activism” as being quite different from words like “volunteering” and “service.” I like the quote above because it shows that this is a false dichotomy. Activists are “volunteers in the vanguard,” helping to change public opinion and pave the way for needed reforms.  One important element of even the most traditional service opportunities is that they can open volunteers’ eyes to broader social problems and create articulate advocates for your organization’s cause.

Below is an excerpt from Susan J. Ellis and Katherine H. Campbell’s By the People: A History of Americans as Volunteers

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