History - Pioneers

Ivan Scheier was many things to many people – a colleague, a presenter, a mentor, a clever writer – but he was always one unquestionable thing to everyone he met: one of the true American pioneers of the field of volunteerism.

 In this collection of first-person stories, people who knew Ivan best reminisce about this remarkable man and the impact of his work in volunteerism. They talk about his Challenge Think Tanks and Mini-Max training process, along with his quiet and unassuming manner and the near genius of his ideas. In this unique tribute, it’s easy to see why Ivan is described as the one person who always saw the volunteer profession from 35,000 feet above the ground.  Ivan Scheier, according to those who knew him, always saw the big picture.

In June 1979, Pennsylvania’s “First Annual Symposium on Volunteerism and Education” was convened in Harrisburg.  The keynote address was delivered by Gordon Manser, co-author of the 1976 book, Voluntarism at the Crossroads.  We dust off and republish his speech here, allowing us to look back through the prism of 31 years at the issues he predicted would affect our field in the coming decades.  Some – such as the impact of the gasoline shortage at that time or Proposition 13 in California – have evolved into somewhat different challenges.  Other themes continue to be very pertinent today.

Dr. Ethel Percy Andrus, the first woman high school principal in the state of California, knew that retired teachers were living on incredibly small pensions, often without any health insurance. In 1947, she founded the National Retired Teachers Association (NRTA).   But it wasn’t until 1956, after approaching more than 30 companies to offer health insurance to retired teachers, that she found one willing to take a chance on NRTA members.  The organization then expanded its membership to all retirees and became AARP in 1958.

Dr. Andrus was a remarkable volunteer.  Read her story.

In 1980, VOLUNTEER: The National Center for Citizen Involvement (predecessor of the Points of Light Foundation) published Exploring Volunteer Space: The Recruiting of a Nation, by Ivan H. Scheier. As has been the case so often with Ivan’s writing, the book was way ahead of its time and unfortunately is now largely unknown. It is a joy to be able to use this “Voices from the Past” feature section of e-Volunteerism to reintroduce new readers to the very-much-still-relevant pages of Exploring Volunteer Space. In the Introduction, Ivan says:

The further cultivation of volunteering is the theme of this book; intensifying, energizing, and expanding it, working out from today’s career leadership of volunteering. The core is the director, coordinator or administrator of volunteer programs, plus resource people and organizations at local, state and national levels. These leaders number an estimated 70,000-80,000 people in the United States today…Without this leadership, there would be no significant volunteer movement for anyone to analyze here. Nevertheless, this leadership seems thin on the line, because the volunteer helping army is far larger than we suppose, and visible leadership, however, talented, shrinks drastically in relation.

In the excerpt presented here, we share Ivan’s thoughts on “Thick and Thin Leadership” – “Practical Issues in Career Effectiveness.” Over time, we’ll revisit Exploring Volunteer Space and give our readers more excerpts. And, since Ivan is Consulting Editor for this journal (/team/scheier.php), we may even hear from him directly in response.

Mary Wiser, innovative director of volunteer services at the Courage Center in Minnesota, lost her fight with cancer but remains in the memory of the many volunteer program managers who saw her as a mentor. Unfortunately, Mary was not a writer, but her friends have culled her files and share some of her remaining training materials and other words of wisdom.

The refrain is heard time and time again in the groups and organizations of modern society. Schools have been crying out for ages about the shortage of math and science teachers. Corporations have been wailing about the lack of skilled workers. Community issues go un-addressed for lack of passionate people. There is a leadership crisis; a volunteer crisis, a "can't find the person I need when I need them" crisis. Why such a shortage of people?

Yet people increasingly ask us, "Why aren't there more leaders?" Why are people reluctant to answer the cry for leadership? ... We believe this cautiousness results not from a lack of courage or competence but from outdated notions about leadership. (Kouzes, Posner. The Leadership Challenge)

Alec Dickson is a name not enough newcomers to the field of volunteerism know, yet he was an active and outspoken advocate for the importance of volunteering from the 1950s up to his death in 1994. He founded the British organization, Voluntary Service Overseas, which directly influenced the development of the Peace Corps in the United States. Then he began Community Service Volunteers, a domestic program still placing over 3,000 full-time volunteers a year into service throughout the United Kingdom. The ripple effect of his influence was international, if not always attributed, as he was one of the first to articulate many of the principles we now value in this field. On the other hand, many of his opinions continue to be provocative -- reason enough to keep his words circulating and discussed.

It is almost preordained that keynote speakers and casual essayists, when asked to address the topic of volunteering in the United States, will eventually quote Alexis de Tocqueville, the famous Frenchman who keenly observed American life and then wrote Democracy in America, published in France in 1835 and 1840. Ask anyone what he said, and you'll hear some variation of "America is a nation of joiners." Since de Tocqueville wrote in French, whether or not he actually used this phrase may be buried in translation, but his extensive commentary on early nineteenth century life is absorbing reading even in the 21st century.

I first read Democracy in America in 1976 when Katie Noyes Campbell and I were researching the first edition of By the People: A History of Americans as Volunteers. I was impressed then and am even more impressed today. In rereading the book to prepare for this "Voices from the Past" article, I was struck by how clairvoyant many of de Tocqueville's observations seem. If you are so inclined, I urge you to read -- even skim -- Democracy in America. Among other things, it delineates why there are similarities and differences in civic participation between the United States and various countries in Europe. It is not an uncritical work, either. As you'll see below, de Tocqueville tried to be as objective as possible.