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August 06, 2008
Finding Volunteer Opportunities
Over the past month we've examined how to find the things you love to do, the areas you are passionate about and how to blend them with the skill set you've put together on your resume to find a possible volunteer position that will help to empower you in both your job and your voluntary activities.
We've seen how a volunteer manager from a Canadian non profit views volunteering.
Last week we discussed how you've used volunteering to try out a potential career.
Jim Hasse explained it this way. "Early in my career (and over the span of 10 years), I took the lead in publishing centennial books for two church congregations (one small and the other larger than average), and both times I felt I was way over my head.
"But, both experiences taught me how to delegate, how to plan and how work with a volunteer group of individuals who just might have very different visions of what a centennial book should be."Those experiences prepared me for working with senior management –- and Price Waterhouse, at the time –- to plan, create and produce annual financial reports (26 in all) under strict guidelines for my employer's stockholders.
"I learned how to work within an established "system" (yes, church congregation and financial auditing firms definitely have their own unique "systems") to get a job done.
"It's something I had not learned in college but needed in order to work with administrative people as a communicator in the secular world."
Through volunteering Jim discovered that he enjoyed helping make the "system" work and it helped him find his career niche.
My friend Linda, a nurse who has a degree in public health, worked for a number of years at a local Red Cross branch and at a larger one in Oakville, Ontario, where she participated in disaster training and emergency readiness planning. She also ran the branch with dignity, respecting all her volunteers from the youngest teenagers to seasoned volunteers with more than 40 years experience. She listened to all their opinions, and with grace and tact put together successful programs in these Red Cross branches. So much so that her consumers and volunteers still keep in touch with her.
Linda then took that experience working with our older volunteers and ran a nursing home and now, having come back to our little city, is sitting on the physician recruitment committee as a volunteer, helping in the fight to save our hospital's ER. She is able to discuss the concern of both seniors and people with disabilities with eloquence and passion. And she is well aware of the consequences of not having an ER, let alone a hospital, in our area. Linda utilized her volunteer experiences and her particular skill set to a maximum.
Another person who provides insight into the needs of people with disabilities is Dr. Karen Wolffe. In her keynote address at the 2007 VISIONS Employment & Technology Institute she said:
"We gain self-esteem when we can report out to other people what it is we are doing for others, not just receiving from others, but doing for -- you don't have to tell them if you are only working one day a month. But you should be doing at least that much. Even if you are saying to yourself, 'I don't have any time to be doing any kind of volunteer work because I'm so busy looking for work,' please let me help you understand how this works. You need to be doing something beyond just looking for work, or not looking for work -- that would be even worse -- that lets other people know that you are actively engaged in life and work to build your own self-esteem and to feel good about yourself and to be able to present yourself as a competent, confident human being. A number of you in this group are looking for work. That is wonderful, that is great, that is super. I want you to look for work, but I want you to work while you look for work. Truly."Other things that you gain from work -- remember paid or non-paid -- is you gain a social network. People connecting to people. Understand: I'm a career counselor. I have spent my entire professional life helping people find work, and when people say to me, "What's the best way to find work?" I say to them, always and forever, what I am going to say to you, which is other people. Other people are your best way to find work..."
Read the full transcript of Dr Wolffe's, "Cornerstone to Success: Work"
You can also listen to Dr. Wolffe's presentation. Playing time is approximately 52 minutes.
Listen to "Cornerstone to Success: Work" with Real Audio
Listen to "Cornerstone to Success" with Windows Media
In addition, don't miss this weeks eSight's feature article, Find Out What Volunteer Opportunities Are Available To Help You With Your Career
Please join this week's discussion on the eSight Networking Forum:
What resources did you use to find your most
rewarding volunteer positions?
Add your comments to this posting
Posted by Liz Seger at August 6, 2008 02:24 PM
Comments
Liz, Great column and, one requiring thought as well.
In considering "Community/Volunteer Services", think the most beneficial resource as been Collegiate friends, individuals with whom I Worship and neighbors. Additionally, colleagues at work, in a variety of civic and professional organizations. These "networking" resources not only have provided guidance in professional pursuits but, have shared with me introductions to organizations where I could serve the variety of communities to which, I am a Member.
When a friend or colleague tells you, "You can make a difference", it's extremely difficult to decline the opportunity to add value to some aspect of an individual's life or, give back to the community in which you live, worship or work.
Posted by: James J. Elekes, M.Ed, MPA, CPM at August 6, 2008 03:51 PM
I was a member of a good-sized church congregation during the late 1980s and early 1990s -– a church which needed a lead pastor who also had much-needed administrative skills.
When the opportunity came up, I volunteered to be on the selection committee where I could use my administrative background to help select a pastor.
I seemed to “click” with the pastor we eventually selected, and, through his mentorship, I had an opportunity to serve on the church council and then the congregation’s foundation board, serving as president for a couple of years.
As I now recall those experiences, I now recognize that I had followed the same path with my "work" career as I did in my leadership roles in that church. I became a mentee of a plant manager who eventually became CEO of the organization, and that helped me continually grow in my career over 28 years without leaving the company.
So, look for a mentor in your volunteering opportunities as well as your day job. Both can lead to a synergy that is very rewarding personally and professionally.
Posted by: Jim Hasse at August 6, 2008 04:42 PM
Hi Liz, Jim H and James E. Liz, I've really enjoyed this discussion of volunteering. As I alluded to some weeks ago, I have had a keen interest in disability issues for some time now. The main resource that got me my current job--aside from networking with friends--was being involved with Center for Independent Futures for a few years. The office staff needed a lot of help, in part because our receptionist left us. However, she was so good and did so much that just one person wasn't enough to fill her shoes. So one day awhile back my life-skills tutor notified me of the need for extra office support and that applications were being distributed among the residents. At first I declined due to not really having the skills to travel independently around the area in which I live. To make a long story short, my tutor and I picked up an application and he helped me fill it out, and we dropped it off back at the office. Not long after that I was called in for an interview, after which I received very positive feedback. I should mention that this was my first formal interview ever, and it went quite well. The person interviewing me called one afternoon to inform me that I had indeed been accepted for the position of administrative assistant. I went to an orientation, where staff went through the Policy and Procedures manual with us and we had an extensive discussion of various aspects of working in an office setting. This included a discussion of confidentiality, which I think I particularly enjoyed because the staff members conducting the orientation acted out funny skits in which one of them breeched confidentiality. As it turned out the same person got canned in all three skits. The staff members who conducted this orientation were always glad to tell me what was written on the board and to describe visuals. The rest is history. I really enjoy working there because I'm learning some new skills and everyone is great to work with. In addition, the environment is rather relaxed and nobody is pressured to get things done. At least this has been the case during all my shifts thus far. One skill I've learned is shredding documents. Everyone is so positive, and there's never a feeling of exclusion. I just listened to Karen Wolffe's presentation and found it very enjoyable. I think there's possibly one barrier she left out. That barrier is voc/rehab. Illinois for example, has one of the worst VR agencies in the country, if not the worst. It may be true that parts of our agency are slightly better than others in terms of qualified VR personnel, but bureaucracy and arrogance seem to be the name of the game. What I don't like about the VR program here is that it singles out certain people for various reasons. Staff turnover is very high, and once someone leaves his or her successor has to virtually start from scratch with the recipient. In addition, my stories about volunteering have fallen on deaf ears and I have been unable to get consistent support if any support at all.
Posted by: Jake at August 6, 2008 10:46 PM
As a specialist in Rehabilitation Medicine, I can't even find a place to volunteer in Chicago area...I am a thorough and devoted doctor and with all the needs there are among the poor, needy and uninsured, Why aren't there more opportunities to utilize are education and experience/
Posted by: Dr Carolyn Heron at February 9, 2009 07:57 PM