Why Volunteer Management? (An origin story)

Many of my colleagues here on LinkedIn know my origin story and passion for volunteerism, but many do not. So I wanted to share with everyone a little history pointing to why I believe in Professional Volunteer Management, or more specifically, leading volunteers with excellence, so deeply and believe it is something we should invest in heavily as a society.

It started with youth group -

Every leader of volunteers' passion for volunteering and career started somewhere. Mine was in a youth group - when I started going to a youth group, it was led by five volunteers. I later became a volunteer youth group leader myself.

That led me to work with youth for a decade, leading youth groups and youth programs - and when those groups grew, I looked to, you guessed it, volunteers to help me to make the experience more enriching, safe, fun and rewarding for all.

On that journey, I found and lost faith in a religious sense, but I found a belief that has become my core. I believe in the power of caring community, of giving one's time and talent for the good of others, as you can see clearly, that includes volunteering at the heart of it.

Joining that youth group as a 15-year-old probably saved my life, it certainly enriched it. But when I look back, the reason for coming together became less and less important, rather, it was the coming together itself and care within that community that made the experience truly special. At the centre of that, time and time again was a group of people giving their time and the best of themselves to the community and the cause.

The last youth program I volunteered in was Christie Lake Kids , a local not-for-profit here in #Ottawa. At CLK (for short), the programs were very volunteer dependent - and the partnership between staff and volunteers was strong. I eventually got hired there!

In my program supervisor role - I spent much of my time recruiting and training volunteers. The other supervisors did the same - it came to a point where it made sense to put up my hand and ask if I could lead the volunteer program as my full-time role. I could see it clearly. The value of investing in volunteers outweighed my own ability to impact the program/community as a program lead.

Then I was hooked, I built up that volunteer program, I studied and engaged and learned as much as I could about this role and the power of volunteering. I became certified in volunteer administration (CVA) via the Council for Certification in Volunteer Administration , I first began taking and then leading workshops on leading volunteers at Volunteer Ottawa , and then became a leader of leaders of volunteers joining the boards of Ottawa Leaders of Volunteers and VMPC-Volunteer Management Professionals of Canada , to continue to engage, to network, to grow and learn how to best encourage people to be involved in causes they care about!

This has been an incredible journey, and I have come to a great respect for a profession that yes is hidden from many, undervalued as often as volunteers are undervalued and not always understood but it is FULL of people who said,

I want to help people, help people - and that is it, we want to make the journey of giving others time and talent enriching, safe, smooth, enjoyable and meaningful for all who are involved in communities where volunteering is present. We see the goodness, the power (the good kind), the transformation and the joy in that. We see that everyone has something to offer and share in caring communities.

So why volunteer management? Because not unlike iron ore becomes steel, like cows' milk becomes dairy, like oil becomes gasoline. People offering their time and talent can be enriched by a skilled professional(s) at the lead of their volunteer program with the tools and resources they need. The more resourced, trained, supported and invested-in leaders of volunteers are, the better outcomes everyone receives (those volunteering, the organization, the clients/participants in programs and the community as a whole).

You want to drive impact in your community - invest in volunteering and in a dedicated leader of volunteers! Help the people who help people, help people by recognizing their profession, helping them grow in it and supporting them as they work to draw in and build that community of caring that can do anything from fighting hunger, lessening loneliness, bringing fun and games to unfun places, to making dying less dark, to making big events safe, to strengthening leadership, to rebuilding shattered lives, to yes saving lives too.

There are no volunteers. Leaders of volunteers get to work with the best of people, people in their best form, as they offer up their time and talent freely.

I will edit the first picture quote at the top - "The kindness of a person is the best part of them," and when someone volunteers in a well-invested-in volunteer program that kindness is refined, amplified, held sacred and offered thoughtfully to the caring community.

If you have thoughts or would like to speak more about volunteerism, leading volunteers or getting involved as a leader of volunteers, please reach out!

Adam Janes (CVA)