What percentage of your volunteers are men? What types of volunteer opportunities do we offer for men? I asked myself these questions while reading “Men Adrift,”a thoughtful, and lengthy, article on how cultural and technology changes have affected men withRead more…
Worth noting: The 24/7 Work Culture’s Toll
A New York Times article, “The 24/7 Work Culture’s Toll on Families and Gender Equality,” paints a sobering picture of the lives many of our church volunteers lead outside of church. Some excerpts and my thoughts. “The pressure of aRead more…
Good Stuff: Motivating Volunteers
Good stuff from the United Kingdom: a short and to-the-point (and free!) downloadable guide on motivating volunteers; part of a series on guides on volunteerism basics. Although not specifically geared toward church volunteers, virtually all of it applies in churchRead more…
Good Stuff: 5 Ways to Say Thanks
Good reminder on how to appreciate volunteers: “5 Ways to Say Thanks.” Numbers 4 and 5 are especially appreciated by high-capacity volunteers and leaders.
Good Stuff: Work as Worship
We don’t often think of an ex-con as a role model, but this one is: “How an Ex-Convict Learned to Worship Through His Work.” Great sermon illustration and discussion starter for vocation, calling in daily life, work as service.
The value of volunteering for job seekers
According to LinkedIn, 41% of hiring managers say volunteer work is just as valuable as paid work on a CV,” says a Volunteer Match blog post.
Good stuff: Little Things
We serve God in little things, too. What if we challenged each other to six random acts of kindness this coming week. A medical professional documents the health benefits we’d each receive, here. And we know Jesus’ words, “. .Read more…
Good Stuff: All Work is Service
Serving goes way beyond just volunteering at church. Tim Keller wrote a great post on it: All Work is Service. What a difference it makes in my day when I remember this!
Good Stuff: Illinois
Illinois ranks #1 in volunteer rate among the 8 most populated states in the U.S. That’s better than being #1 in sports, right?
Found stuff: Much help, Little good
A good reminder that we should use our heads as well as our hearts when we want to help those in need. Truly helping others can be challenging. Few countries have suffered an earthquake so devastating, or have been lessRead more…
Good Stuff: Measuring Impact
Volunteer Match collected information from nonprofits on measuring volunteer impact. They’re sharing the results here: “Here’s How You Measure Volunteer Impact.”
Good Stuff: Volunteer Match blog
The Volunteer Match blog covers the volunteerism interests of the entire nonprofit world. Here’s a listing of their most popular blog posts in 2014
Good stuff – volunteerism resources
The Energize, Inc. website is full of volunteerism resources. I especially like A to Z library and Susan Ellis’s hot topics.
Good Stuff on Parent Volunteers
Good stuff I’ve come across: “Tips for Engaging Parent Volunteers“ Research fact sheet on the value of parental involvement in education from the Michigan Dept. of Education. The value only increases in spiritual education.
Good Stuff from Volunteer Match
Every time you write a recruitment notice, use the three simple suggestions at the end of this Volunteer Match article, “Responsive Tech that Powers Your Volunteer Recruitment.” The article is about smart phone use, but the way we interact withRead more…