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By Elaine Tselikis

1 in 14 Maine adults cannot read this sentence. As Literacy Volunteers of Maine shaped its 2009 campaign and fundraiser, I envisioned engaging photography students as major artistic creators, to produce a body of work that fuses imagery with social justice to show hard-working Maine people who have achieved literacy. It was important that this be a volunteer student-based project, to mirror the LV model and our literacy students. A photographer and teaching artist myself, I know the energizing capacity of artistic imagery, and I wanted our efforts to go beyond the success of our upcoming fundraiser event. Peter Shellenberger, Photography Department Head at Maine College of Art, caught the concept immediately and was key to launching this first-ever alliance between MECA and LV Maine. He pro-actively encouraged his students to participate in this Project, offering them the opportunity to grow artistically and professionally, and contribute to the community.

“Faces of Literacy: Voices of Courage” is an event that celebrates how literacy changes lives, and will be held September 17 at Portland’s USM Abromson Community Education Center. It features an exhibit of black & white photographs created by MECA students, with accompanying stories that show how literacy improves lives of adult learners, LV tutors and their families. In addition, author Vicki Myron will be there to talk about her NYT bestselling book Dewey: The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World (which by the way is being made into a motion picture starring Meryl Streep!). After the event, the portrait photographs will travel Maine. These images go beyond statistics to reveal the humanity of what so many of us take for granted – the ability to read to negotiate our world.

Low literacy seriously affects activities of daily living, such as understanding a prescription label, reading a bus schedule, or acquiring a job. While 1,000 adults bravely step into Maine LV offices to improve their lives with the help of their tutor-mentors every year, there are over 200,000 more adults who need help with reading to become more self-sufficient. These people remain in the shadows of fear and ridicule. In FacesVoices, we hope to inspire them to come and get the free help they need through our LV Network, where they can find solutions without shame and turn the page from despair and isolation to hope and participation.

There were some initial bumps in the photography Project. A few students, who were first on board, backed out. It was challenging with the semester closing in April and our September timeline moving ever closer. However, when my director Sarah Robinson and I met with three students to go over the Project in detail and consulted Peter again, active interest was sparked.

Whenever possible, I interviewed students on their timetable to determine interest level, availability and view work samples. College students have much on their plates. Many are working, or trying to find work in this skinny economy, to augment their education. A major partnering endeavor, FacesVoices would not be possible without these caring and talented students, nor without the adult literacy learners, their tutors, and our 14 affiliates who were putting themselves out there. Six students accepted this daunting responsibility: Melissa DiPaola, Emma Sampson, Diane Wren, Jeff Fujiu, and graduating seniors Ashley Earl and Jessica Perro.

There is intense investment in a creative undertaking, especially for pressured seniors completing their course of study. It was crucial to present what LV Maine would do for the MECA students, in turn for their work traveling with me across the state and photographing people pro-bono, because, as a nonprofit, we were unable to compensate them financially.

We committed to promote and credit them in as many communications as possible – websites, press announcements, corporate appeal packages, newsletters, videos, etc – and provide value-added opportunity to build their portfolios, professional contacts and skills in location assignment photography and client-building. LV Maine is working closely with MECA to promote this joint Project. This is the largest Project I have ever managed, juggling multiple schedules, locations and personalities, all within a compressed period of time, and with limited staffing in our office and those of our hardworking affiliates. Yet, it’s one of the most exhilarating and rewarding, because it is so dear to my heart. The photography exhibit is catching on, making meaningful connections and engendering great excitement within our LV Network and beyond. The Saco Museum is the first venue outside of our September 17 event to host the FacesVoices exhibition, and will open October 2, 2009. Other venues are slated or are in the works.

Beyond the opportunities we are providing MECA students, they have given our Network an exceptional and unprecedented gift to share with the people of Maine – through the powerful medium of photography – the great successes taking place among adult learners who work with their tutors in our affiliates. Speaking personally and professionally, traveling the state with these wonderful young photographers and experiencing first-hand how Literacy Volunteers is making a palpable difference in people’s lives, has been transforming. And seeing how they, too, have been moved by the people they have photographed adds further meaning to this volunteer collaboration, and brings the creative process full-circle.

LV Maine provides increased access to services for Maine adults who wish to acquire or improve literacy skills. Our statewide network of 14 affiliates deliver basic literacy and English for Speakers of Other Languages instruction to over 1,000 Mainers using a dedicated corps of well trained volunteer tutors. Tutors donate more than $1,000,000 in tutoring services to make student dreams a reality.

Elaine Tselikis is the Director of Communications and Educational Outreach for Literacy Volunteers of Maine.

By Amy Davidson

I have to say that this year has been one of the most inspiring years for me professionally. Since starting this job in 1998, not only have the people who volunteer changed, but the types of service opportunities and their approach to service has changed. I am happy to say that there is really something for everyone when it comes to service learning and I want to share a few of our experiences.

This year, Volunteer Macon participated in the Semester of Service event. Our role was to host various events throughout the year and engage a variety of young people in service learning opportunities. These events took place around Days of Service-MLK Jr. Day until Global Youth Service Day engaging youth in our Summer Programs and Leadership Development classes.

During our MLK Day event, our participants read the novel, “The Boy in the Striped Pajamas”. We held several discussion groups about the book and its themes of racism, prejudice and cultural differences. The Friday before the big event, youth erected a wooden fence in downtown Macon. One side of the fence was decorated with things that symbolized positive things in our community and the other negative. On MLK Day, the fence was torn down, symbolizing hope that all fences should be torn down. The students as well as the adult attendees were very moved by this ceremony.

From January until late April, we worked with youth on four different focus areas, including the environment, elderly and aging, homelessness and literacy. After our participants completed workshops, then went out into our community to serve on projects they designed. These sites included area nursing homes, shelters, local food bank and church food pantries, Head Start programs and an environmental project on non-native plant eradication at the Ocmulgee National Monument. All of these projects were well received and had a big impact.

Our summer program has always been one of my favorites. Youth come for an intensive 2-week service learning experience that emphasizes social awareness as well as academics. As with all of our service learning initiatives, youth design their own community service projects ranging from debris removal, picnics for the homeless, baby products drive and helping at our local health department’s HIV Testing Day. The volunteers always comment what a difference it makes when they have learned why they are helping and what kind of impact they are having on our community. Youth come back year after year to this program.

During the school year, Volunteer Macon hosts leadership development and service learning activities. We keep them engaged through the school year and make sure they are staying on task with their academics. During these sessions, we incorporate team building activities and diversity training. At the end of the school year, our students design and implement a service project of their choice.

I am very fortunate to serve in this capacity at Volunteer Macon and I am always blown away by the amount of caring people I meet. It doesn’t take a grand project to make a difference in someone’s life or in your community. When you do something positive for your community or your neighbor you are affecting the whole community.

Everyone, everywhere, schools, businesses, churches can start small, but everyone needs to start now.

Amy Davidson is the Youth Volunteer Corps Director with Volunteer Macon and a guest blogger.

By Fran Rudoff

While much of the press attention around the newly enacted Serve America legislation has centered on the expansion of Americorps, the service-learning field is celebrating important changes that will help expand service-learning opportunities for K-16 students through the Learn and Serve America Program. [For those unfamiliar with the term, service-learning is a teaching strategy through which students are challenged to identify, research and address real community challenges, using knowledge and skills learned in the classroom.] Significantly, the law increases the overall authorized funding level for Learn and Serve America from its traditional funding level of $43 million to $97 million. Several new programs authorized by the law present interesting opportunities for Maine schools and communities. These include:

• A Summer of Service Program to engage K-12 youth in year-round opportunities to learn through service; participants can earn a $500 education award to be used for college expenses.
• Youth Engagement Zones to prepare K-12 youth to address specific challenges in their communities; competitive grants will be made available for local school - community partnerships that commit to engage a majority of K-12 youth—and all high school students—in a comprehensive continuum of service-learning opportunities in school and community-based programs.
• Campuses of Service to support and recognize institutions of higher education with exemplary service-learning programs and assist students in the pursuit of public service careers.

Although it remains unclear when these new initiatives will be fully implemented (the President’s 2010 Budget proposal includes $39.5 million for Learn and Serve America, well below the new authorization levels), I would encourage Maine schools, community organizations and campuses to begin thinking creatively about these new opportunities. The new law encourages service-learning activities that promote: energy conservation; emergency and disaster preparedness; expanding access to technology; as well as programs that involve high-school age youth in mentoring younger students. There is also an emphasis on STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) disciplines.

Many organizations already offer experiential learning opportunities for youth during the summer months in a wide variety of areas such as the natural environment, gardening, reading and drama, and computer applications and programming. These programs can easily be modified or expanded so that participants can apply their new knowledge and skills to address a local problem or need. For example, youth involved in computer programs could work with seniors to help them learn basic word processing and Internet programs. Programs focused on environmental studies could create nature trails and guides, develop programs that educate others about recycling or water quality protection, or conduct energy audits of homes or public buildings.

School districts and communities should also watch the development of the new Youth Engagement Zones initiative. This program, which will target low income and rural communities, could provide significant funding to fully integrate service-learning into the curriculum and instructional practices in elementary, middle and high schools in a school district. Participating communities will commit to having 90 percent of students engaged in service-learning and include service-learning in the curriculum of its secondary schools.

To learn more about these new initiatives as they unfold, the following websites will provide regular updates:
http://www.servicelearning.org/ (the national service-learning clearinghouse)
http://www.service-learningpartnership.org (for advocacy and program updates)
http://www.icicp.org (for summer of service ideas and resources)
http://www.compact.org (for higher education updates)

I’m interested in hearing your ideas about these new initiatives. I can be reached at frudoff@kidsconsortium.org. Our website (www.kidsconsortium.org) also has free service-learning resources and project ideas.

Fran Rudoff is the Executive Director of KIDS Consortium and a guest blogger.

By Anne Schink

I remember a summer several years ago when I lay in bed on a hot summer night suffering with a terrible cold, ear infection and general misery. I struggled to figure out what had triggered this sense of being blocked in every direction. I had a wonderful job and activities that I really enjoyed, but I was feeling totally overwhelmed.

It didn’t take long to realize that I was overcommitted in every way. Even my volunteer activities weren’t fun any more. As I began to dissect my dissatisfaction, I realized that I was working full time and I was involved in about four volunteer activities at a variety of different levels and with a range of intensity. Service on a board I had once enjoyed had begun to feel like a burden. It dawned on me that this volunteer job was very much like my full time job. It felt like just ‘one more thing’. Another volunteer activity involved doing things I actually hated doing! I loved the organization, but I resented the time it took to set up meetings and make follow up phone calls. Too much like my job.

As I worked my down to through the list of activities, I began to see that what I sought in volunteer activities was something different from my every day job. An opportunity to work with people I wouldn’t necessarily run into every day at work. A chance to learn new skills that weren’t necessary in my job, but that were satisfying to me. An opportunity to work directly with others when so much of my work time was spent alone.

If you discern a pattern here, then you are probably a very insightful manager of volunteers. How many times have you asked a volunteer to do work that replicates what they do all day because they have ‘expertise’ in that area? Sometimes a volunteer is a highly skilled professional, but just wants to do something different. As you begin to recruit volunteers with lots of experience, be sure to take the time to explore, not just what they do now and do well, but also what they might rather be doing that will feel new to them and bring a sense of excitement back into their lives.

What kind of experience have you had with people who are trying to break of their mold?

Anne Schink is a Consultant in Volunteer Management and a featured blogger.

By Lori Jean Mantooth

What are the goals of your organization? Are you able to meet these goals with your current staff capacity? Would you like to expand your current efforts and take on new projects? Volunteer leaders can help you do that!

A volunteer leader is a volunteer who leads others in service. Volunteer leaders may plan and/or lead projects; lead others in ongoing service; organize, lead, and inspire other volunteers; or represent an organization to volunteers and the community.

The community is full of potential leaders, and by tapping into their skills, ideas, and passion, your organization can greatly expand the work it does in the community. Volunteer leadership creates a community of committed leaders who care about and understand your work. You can also increase volunteer retention by offering current volunteers greater responsibility and different opportunities.

Volunteer leaders are a key part of the HandsOn Network model of service and civic engagement. From serving as project managers on large days of service to organizing KidsCare Clubs, HandsOn volunteer leaders serve in a variety of ways.

HandsOn Action Centers use many different methods of nurturing volunteer leaders. Here are a few tips:
• Engaging them in meaningful positions.
• Get to know the volunteer leaders, why they are serving, the skills they have and the ones they want or need to develop.
• Keep them motivated and engaged through regular training, meetings, or email or other social networking tools.
• Coach and mentor the leaders and support them as they plan projects and lead others.
• Pair volunteer leaders to learn from and support each other.
• Provide training opportunities for personal and professional development.
• Host informal social gatherings at local cafes.
• Recognize their service. Consider national volunteer recognition such as the President’s Volunteer Service Award, the Daily Point of Light, or L’Oreal Women of Worth

Through a cooperative agreement with the Corporation for National and Community Service, HandsOn Network provides free online courses on leveraging volunteers. Visit http://www.nationalserviceresources.org/online-courses for these and other courses:
• Utilizing Volunteers as Project Leaders
• Engaging College Students as Volunteer Leaders
• Volunteer Management
• Project Planning
• On-site Project Management

Lori Jean Mantooth is Director of Training & Consulting Projects at HandsOn Network and a guest blogger.

Generated by Points of Light Institute, HandsOn Network equips, mobilizes and inspires people to take action that changes the world. Our Network, now the largest in the nation, is leading people from impulse to action, turning their ideas for change into real projects like building wheel chair ramps, watershed protection projects and tutoring programs – action that addresses critical issues facing our communities, our nation and our world. The Network includes over 250 affiliates—that serve in all 50 states and in nine countries. In 2007 alone, these HandsOn Action Centers helped to deliver more than 33 million hours of volunteer service valued at 1.2 billion dollars.

By Margaret E. Puckett

All the buzz today seems to revolve around the new emerging demographics of the volunteer workforce and how volunteer programs must change the way they use these volunteers to remain viable. It’s one of the hottest topics in volunteer management. Like everyone else, I’ve studied the latest materials on the subject and engaged in many conversations concerning it. I’ve spent many hours pondering how it all affects my organization and our volunteer program. And you know what? After all this study and self evaluation, I discovered that maybe I don’t have so much that needs to be changed after all.

I started by taking a close look at my program’s current demographics. The age span of my volunteers is pretty extensive. The youngest volunteer is 14 and the oldest is 97. I also found that the generations were fairly evenly balanced, with every decade represented – My own generational rainbow so to speak. Forty percent of my volunteers are over 70; those in their sixties (baby boomers) account for 25%; and those in their teens (minus the summer junior volunteers) through their fifties make up 35% of the volunteer work force. It was beginning to look like I might be doing something right. Now the challenge was to identify those things and improve on the processes.

I think it begins with an understanding that every person who makes the decision to volunteer has a need within themselves that they are trying to fulfill. If they didn’t, they wouldn’t be here. There are many types of needs. These are pretty well discussed in most materials available on volunteer management – from the young volunteer who is looking for some job experience, all the way to those individuals who just want to feel they still have something to left to contribute. Sometimes the person knows what the need is, but not always. It may be more complicated than the volunteer understands or acknowledges. What is critical is that we understand it (even if they don’t) because, unless this need is fulfilled, the volunteer will not return. It’s our job to make sure it happens. Dismiss or ignore this and we and our programs are in trouble.
Long gone are those days of trying to fit square pegs into round holes. People-people generally don’t do well in isolated offices filing or stuffing envelopes. On the other hand, retired bookkeeper types who love paperwork better than people tend to struggle in positions like reception work. It is critical to make sure we don’t place individuals in positions they are not suited for just because that happens to be where we needed someone when that person walked through the door.

It’s time we look at our volunteer workforce as a cup-half-full and not a cup-half empty. Instead of dwelling on what volunteers can’t do (such as replacing a paid employee or doing hazardous tasks not covered by our insurance), the focus must be on the amazing possibilities they offer us. Every volunteer brings with them unique strengths, talents and skills no matter what their age. We need to identify and capitalize on these strengths, talents and skills – drawing on them. This allows us to do so much more than what we would be able to do with just our employee workforce. It is truly the most incredible opportunity volunteers offer us – but it does take vision, effort and some “thinking-outside-the box.”
No one—no matter what generation he or she is part of – thrives in an atmosphere of being bored or unappreciated. We must be open to, and supportive of, letting volunteers add or change roles within the organization even if we would prefer they didn’t. To maintain productivity, volunteers must experience variety in what they do and positive reinforcement in what they accomplish. Some volunteers love what they do and stay in their positions for years, others become bored or dissatisfied and will ultimately leave your organization if they feel they have no other options. Remember a volunteer’s feeling of job satisfaction is their paycheck so to speak.

Finally, it’s helpful to understand that good management principles apply equally to both paid employees and volunteers. Unfortunately, in the business world, many managers are not well trained in these principles, or tend to ignore them. The expectation is that an employee’s need to keep their job is sufficient motivation. Volunteer managers don’t have the option of selectively applying these principles. The difference is that volunteer managers have to do it right. That said, it makes sense to not limit yourself to articles or books that only discuss “volunteer management”— good management principles, are good management principles – period. Lots of resources are available, so use them!

Margaret Puckett is Volunteer Services Coordinator at St. Joseph Hospital and a featured blogger.

By Sharon Tewksbury-Bloom

Volunteering has made it into the news a lot recently for a couple of different reasons. First, the recession is increasing the ranks of the unemployed as well as increasing the demands on voluntary organizations. Second, President Obama, from campaign rhetoric, to getting his hands dirty on MLK, Jr. Day, to signing the Serve America Act has shone a light on service in the United States. What is the impact of all of these new developments on volunteer managers?

You have an opportunity to take advantage of new volunteers who can bring a wide variety of skills and backgrounds to your mission.
- Who are some of these new volunteers?
- Recently unemployed adults from a variety of sectors including marketing, finance, customer service, and more.
- Recently retired – the first surge of baby boomers taking advantage of early out programs. Many of these individuals will want to work part time or look for opportunities for paid work down the road.
-Young adults looking for resume building opportunities during this competitive job market.

These new volunteers represent the larger trend in volunteerism that was anticipated with the retirement of the baby boomers and introduction of the millennial generation into volunteering.
- They have new skills to offer and really want to bring those skills to your mission.
- They need flexible schedules and the ability to engage at different levels over time.
- They may want to take the lead on a project or work with a team of volunteers on a project for your organization.

So what should you do to prepare for and welcome these new volunteers?
- Work with the staff of your organization to identify possible roles for skilled volunteers.
- Examine current volunteer roles to see if they can be restructured for more flexibility.
- Rethink your recruitment messaging to appeal to these new volunteers and their motivations.

For more information and ideas, view the presentation from our March roundtable, “Boomer Engagement: Inviting Boomers In” by Andrea Taylor, PhD, Director of Training for the Center of Intergenerational Learning at Temple University.

To read about the trends check out these news stories:
From Ranks of Jobless, a Flood of Volunteers
CNN – “Jobless, But Working”
Supporting Local Agencies During Challenging Times
A Special Moment for Service

For helpful articles on engaging skills based volunteers:

Baby Boomers and the New Age of VolunteerismPro Bono Volunteering ResourcesOrganizational Readiness

Sharon Tewksbury-Bloom is a manager of volunteers with Volunteer Arlington and a guest blogger.

By Penny Kern

I was looking through some old material the other day and ran across some interesting information about the Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. I didn’t throw it away like I’ve been doing to a LOT of my old stuff but thought I’d ask you folks - is it still current? Can you still use this when you recruit volunteers?

Maslow did a study in 1943 to see what motivated people. It has evolved into a pyramid with the basic needs at the bottom and progressing into self-actualization at the top.

The way I used to use it was determining if a person was ready to volunteer and be a role model for youth.

If a person was worried about where they were going to get the money to put food on their table or pay their mortgage or rent, they might not be capable of putting the energy needed into volunteering. Food, breathing, shelter, sleep, clean water, clothing, etc. are all basic needs to human survival. Without them, we’d die. There are others too. These are just an example. But, all energy must be directed to meeting these needs before a person can move on and take other responsibilities.

The next rung in the pyramid is safety concerns. This includes job security, savings accounts, insurance policies, personal safety and security, health and well-being, and a safety net against accidents/illnesses. Does the volunteer feel secure in their surrounds and personal life to move on to thinking about others.

Humans need to feel a sense of belonging and acceptance. For some, this means joining clubs, religious groups, and professional organizations. For others, it’s the small social connections of family members and close colleagues. In the absence of these connections, many people feel susceptible to loneliness, social anxiety and clinical depression.

Esteem is the next level. Humans need to be respected, to have self-esteem, self-respect.

In Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, the need for self-actualization is the final need that only manifests itself when the lower levels have been satisfied. This is the top level.

This used to be one of the first theories taught to marketing students. It was when I was first getting involved. Is it still?

There are a lot of criticisms about this theory but it has helped me understand my volunteers and how or why they were acting the way they were.

Penny Kern is a retired volunteer manager and a featured blogger.

Dani Arbour

We all need volunteers to help us accomplish our mission. For me, it’s ensuring the lives of the animals we care for are enriched and comfortable during their stay. This doesn’t always mean working with the animals, however. Many of the tasks necessary to run the shelter are dull – data entry, photo copying, cutting blankets, washing dishes – boring but important tasks. It’s difficult to retain volunteers for most of these tasks because of the monotony. I try to break it up through work with the animals as well, but once they begin to work with the animals they often give up the boring task.

These tasks are extremely important as we work to keep donor information updated and clean dishes available – so how do I keep the volunteers assigned to these tasks happy and coming back? Every once in awhile there is one person that has no problems with the repetitive nature of the job, but most give up after just a few weeks. Any suggestions on making the “blah” more fun?

Dani Arbour is a featured blogger and the Volunteer and Events Manager at the Bangor Humane Society.