The Process of Establishing a Workplace Volunteer Council in Wausau, Wisconsin

Abstract

Non-profit organizations are often reliant on the time, effort and care of volunteers. People willing to donate time to wheel nursing home residents to church service, read to preschool children, serve meals to the homeless or help with administrative tasks are critical to the support of social service organizations. The quality of service non-profit agencies give to their customers often depends on volunteers. Yet volunteers are becoming harder to find. In American society today people are pulled in many directions - family, friends, and work to name a few. The days of stay-at-home mothers volunteering at the local Red Cross or USO are long gone. Two-income families are the norm with family time being squeezed in between work, grocery shopping, home maintenance and sleep. Free-time to devote to ones community has become a luxury. Even though the days do not seem to be long enough for all that needs to be accomplished in 24 hours, many people choose to make a contribution and maintain a connection to the larger community in which they live. Volunteering still plays an important role in the lives of many Americans. An increasing number of employers are including the opportunity to volunteer during normal work hours in their benefits packages. Many businesses are finding value in providing this type of experience on the job and are joining forces to become resources for each other in the form of Workplace Volunteer Councils or Corporate Volunteer Councils. In most communities Workplace Volunteer Councils are coordinated and fiscally managed by local Volunteer Centers.