Benefits of Volunteering

In its final appearance, Along the Web presents "Impact Susan," a collection of articles about Susan J. Ellis and her lasting impact on the volunteer management profession that appeared around the country following her death in February 2019. Descriptions and links to these publications, online exchanges, and group chats are provided here as Along the Web, which Ellis created, bids farewell.  

"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.”  

When faced with challenging world problems, volunteers’ resilience and resourcefulness have historically come to the fore. Consider the volunteer response to global heating and the damaging effects of climate change, which can seem overwhelming. Since scientists reported in 2019 that trees reduce carbon dioxide in the air – and that 900 million hectares more of them planted in the right places could cut the amount of CO2 by two-thirds – volunteers have responded with renewed commitment to planting trees.

In this Along the Web, writer Arnie Wickens explores how tree-planting projects and reforestation programmes have acquired renewed purpose and significance. Granted, tree-planting projects are not necessarily new, nor are they the only climate change action that volunteers will embrace. However, they are highly effective for and uniquely suited to engaging volunteers from every segment imaginable – from each and every age group, large corporations to small businesses, individuals to families, and to social and friendship groups of all kinds.

Thanksgiving, Christmas, Diwali, Chanukah. Holidays and festivals like these can create even busier times for organisations that run fundraising drives or develop special projects tied to these events in an attempt to reach more of the communities they serve.

As evidenced during the most recent holiday season, some organisations depend on existing volunteers to put in extra shifts. Others view a special seasonal time of year as a great opportunity to recruit new volunteers to their causes; these volunteers may come to help out at a one-off event only, while others can likely be retained and end up making longer-term volunteer commitments. Still other organisations or projects exist and operate only n the run-up to and during the holiday period itself. Do they get the same volunteers to return year after year? And if so, how do they make that work?

In this Along the Web, Arnie Wickens presents websites of various organisations that have created a reputation or brand identity from identifying their work with holiday seasonal times, based on effectively recruiting volunteers to maintain the work they do. This article offers a wealth of tips that will prove invaluable when planning the next crunch of seasons and holiday volunteering.

Along the Web has previously highlighted volunteering in health care, human services, and in very emotionally challenging settings or situations. But in this new article, the focus turns for the first time to volunteering in hospice care, with a special look at how and why volunteers provide end-of-life and palliative support to adults and children, their families, and friends. Through links to hospice websites, resources, videos, and relevant research about volunteers and hospice care, author Arnie Wickens shows volunteers being well integrated alongside highly-trained professionals, either on-site or in hospice at home and community programmes.

In this e-Volunteerism feature, the story of volunteers at the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo shows how and why your organization can empower volunteers to help tell your story. As writer Karie Hajek explains, volunteers are often referred to as the “heart” of an organization and represent a crucial, untapped voice that can help organizations embody their mission.

“With strategic attention to incorporating your messaging into your recruiting and training process, you can better equip your volunteers to engage your audience and support your cause,” writes Hajek, who is Volunteer Services Specialist at the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo. “It is through this lens that you can truly see and acknowledge volunteers as an invaluable extension and voice of your organization.” 

Although hundreds of thousands of people volunteer with the National Park Service each year, the agency has been slow to engage volunteers in emergency management. In this feature story by Francis Shawn Bawden, who worked for the NPS for nine years, the lessons learned at Everglades National Park during the preparation, response, and recovery of numerous hurricanes in 2016-2018 provide important recommendations to emergency managers and volunteer coordinators who want to better utilize volunteers during most phases of disasters.

Should volunteer professionals expect to be paid for publishing and presenting? Or is there value in blogging and writing about volunteer management in order to share knowledge with peers in the field?

In this Voices, co-editor Allyson Drinnon explores these questions. She taps into the expertise of e-Volunteerism’s own Rob Jackson, a steadfast proponent of writing to expand the profession who shares they four key reasons he writes and why other volunteer professionals should, too. Drinnon also includes her own thoughts on the subject, with additional comments and insights from volunteer management expert Meridian Swift. 

An increasing number of hospitals and other healthcare environments are now beginning to incorporate integrative health interventions into their settings to meet the stress or symptom management needs of both patients and employees. These practices often include massage, canine visits, art, music, energy healing, guided imagery, essential oils, yoga, and Tai Chi, and work in tandem with mainstream medicine to address everything from patient boredom to emotional distress, physical symptoms of pain, anxiety, and nausea.

While interest in integrative health interventions in hospitals has grown over the last several years, the use of volunteers in these programs has grown, too. And as integrative care expert Cathrine Weaver writes in this issue of e-Volunteerism, there has also been an uptick in the unanticipated need for emotional support and more focused monitoring of volunteers in these programs. “The integrative interventions volunteer role makes great demands on the individual, and these demands can take an emotional toll,” writes Weaver. “Understanding this has helped us see the importance of supporting these volunteers in a different way.”

In this feature story, Weaver explores how to engage volunteers in integrative health programs and how to provide the monitoring behaviors and support they need to maintain their own wellbeing while helping others.