If you’re not familiar with the title of this article, it suggests that there are two types of people or even jobs – generalists and specialists. In looking at most professions, we see a mix of both. Yet when we look at Volunteer Engagement, we would argue that we only see generalists.
In this quarter’s Points Of View (POV), we wanted to lift the curtain a bit and give our readers a glimpse behind the scenes. Because, honestly, writing these articles isn’t easy. Well, that’s not strictly true. We have lots of fun actually putting the words on the page and knocking drafts backwards and forwards between us. But having ideas for us to write about? That can be hard.
As we alluded to in our last Points of View, this modern world seems to be beset with crisis: the global COVID-19 pandemic crisis. . .an inflationary cost-of-living crisis. . .the crisis in Ukraine. . .a continuing migrant and refugee crisis after years of war in Libya, Syria, Afghanistan, Yemen and too many other countries. . .climate crisis that affects the whole planet.
Who do you consider to be an ethical person?
Susan J. Ellis was more than a passionate advocate for the change that great volunteering could make, and more than a passionate voice for the influence that Volunteer Engagement professionals could make while forging that change.
She ‘walked the walk’ and ‘talked the talk.’ She invested time, money, and her expertise into the development of resources that have become the benchmark of volunteerism the world over.
But more than that, she was a generous soul with a heart that was driven to not only help build volunteerism in her home country – but the world over. Whenever the name ‘Susan J. Ellis’ is brought up at a volunteerism conference or a DOVIA meeting, stories are inevitably shared by volunteer leaders about the knowledge they learned from one of her publications, or the encouragement they personally received while meeting her at the Energize booth during a conference or over a quick chat at the conclusion of a workshop.
To celebrate Ellis’ life, her long-time colleague, friend, and fellow writer Andy Fryar, who serves as manuscript developer for e-Volunteerism, approached key volunteerism leaders from around the world and asked them to share their personal insights about the difference she made to volunteerism in their country – and to them personally. This unique e-Volunteerism feature presents stories and reflections from 10 volunteerism leaders on the influential lift of Susan J. Ellis and her life’s work.
"Social prescribing" is a means for tackling poor health without, or alongside, prescribing pharmaceutical drugs. Schemes for social prescribing cover a wide array of activities and programmes, ranging from physical activities such as dance classes through culture programmes and volunteering. As research proves that volunteering has a positive impact on mental health, volunteering has become an efficient and increasingly popular way of addressing health and well-being concerns and a part of social prescribing schemes. Participating in volunteering activities in the framework of social prescribing is especially beneficial for patients with mental health issues, and/or suffer from loneliness and isolation, perhaps caused by physical illnesses or other social issues.
In this e-Volunteerism feature, author Gabriella Civico explains how volunteering is an important part of social prescribing schemes for patients. “Social prescribing leads to patients requiring less on-going support and enables them to contribute to an important cause, often continuing to support it even after the prescribed period ends,” she writes. “In this way, social prescribing has a positive impact on society as well as the patients.”