Volunteers becoming a force to be reckoned with

Today (Dec. 5) is International Volunteer Day.

The U.N. estimates the world-wide number of volunteers at more than 862 million per month. That’s at least double the population of every country in the world, with the exception of India and China. It’s more than 21 times the population of Canada. And every month. (Volunteers) should be a force to be reckoned with

So, why aren’t we? Why, even in the organizations that depend the most on volunteers, are we often a bit of an afterthought? How many organizations include the volunteer program in their strategic plans or have volunteer professionals on their boards of directors and trustees? How many actually consistently and thoughtfully invest in their (volunteer) programs?

Too often, the leader of volunteers has that portfolio added to an already over-flowing schedule, or the role is assigned to someone with little or no experience or training. As I’ve often said, the leader of volunteers is a leadership role.

The person in that role leads more people than almost anyone else in the organization. Yet it’s often relegated to being dealt with off the side of someone’s desk.

That’s the perception in organizations that depend on volunteers. How, then, does the greater community perceive volunteers and leaders of volunteers?

It’s important to have a day acknowledged in the international arena but, really, how many people outside the sector have ever heard of it? Is it any more known than, say, Feb. 10 – International Day of the Arabian Leopard? Or Aug. 11 – World Steelpan Day? Raising awareness of the importance of volunteers (and other issues) is critical, but in trying to raise that awareness, we often talk, post and blog to people who are already aware. Basically, we’re shouting into an echo chamber.

For volunteers to become a force to be reckoned with, we need to get our voices heard outside the sector.

How? I have a few ideas:

• See if you can publish blogs or articles in online news magazines or in other general interest publications. I reached out to our local online news site, Castanet and it now publishes this weekly column.

• Rather than just speaking on podcasts aimed at the sector, reach out to ones that have a broader audience.

• Talk about your volunteering or your volunteer program to everyone, not just those you want to recruit. I need to get better at that myself.

• Join an advocacy group that is petitioning your government to prioritize volunteerism or talk with your government representative about ways to promote volunteerism.

• Hold recruitment drives in places like malls or libraries where you can be seen by, and help educate, the general public.

• If nothing else, put a sticker in the window of your vehicle bragging about being a volunteer.

These are ideas just off the top of my head. There are bound to be far more ideas that I haven’t thought of yet. The point is to think about where and how we can be seen by people who don’t already see us.

In what other ways can we make volunteers and volunteerism a force to be reckoned with?

• Educate our own organizations.

• Give presentations to the board about the benefits of investing in the program.

• Sit down with the executive and discuss the importance of having a volunteer engagement professional leading the volunteers.

• Hold workshops for other staff who interact with volunteers so they learn the value that volunteers bring to the organization.

We know volunteers are a force to be reckoned with in this world. How do we get other people to give us that recognition?

So, on this International Volunteer Day, what are you doing to get the word out?

This article is written by or on behalf of an outsourced columnist and does not necessarily reflect the views of Castanet.