President Abraham Lincoln's immortal phrase that the United
States government is "of the people, by the people, for the
people" is proven every day by volunteers. The fact is
that despite what some may think, not every government
worker is on the payroll.
A common misconception is that volunteering involves
activities solely for nonprofit organizations. Because of
the term "voluntary sector," the general presumption is
that volunteer work and private voluntary agencies go hand
in hand. This is too narrow a view. In fact, a very large
percentage of American volunteers assist government units
at the local, county, state and national levels.
Consider the following places where volunteers can
routinely be found:
In these settings, citizens work as volunteers alongside
employees as a team. They perform assignments identified
by the staff as appropriate and important.
An examination of the interrelationship of government and
volunteering in the United States must take into account
four distinct categories:
Volunteering done on behalf of
government by citizen volunteers, by choice and without
remuneration.
Volunteering done by
government officials and employees as an extension of their
commitment to the community, but without additional
compensation.
Citizen activities seeking to
affect political or social life through lobbying,
protesting, advocating or advising on a wide range of
issues.
Government programs that bring
about community service by special categories of citizens.
This includes voluntary but stipended service and
"mandated" service, particularly within school districts,
the criminal justice system and the new welfare reform
system. This category can be controversial.
Volunteering by Citizens
U.S. citizens are accustomed to a high standard of police,
fire and emergency services. In rural areas, these would
be nonexistent if it were not for the involvement of
community members as volunteers. Even in the nation's
largest cities, volunteers are a critical element in
ensuring public safety. Indeed, volunteers account for an
astonishing 80 percent of the national firefighting force.
Depending on the size of the community, there may be a paid
fire chief, quasi-governmental authority and some flow of
tax dollars. Still, most of those who are involved in all
aspects of firefighting, running the companies, and
fundraising to purchase equipment are volunteers. Suburban
communities may supplement a weekday paid force with
evening and weekend volunteers, when commuting homeowners
are back in their houses, close enough to respond to an
alarm.
Similarly, other emergency services rely on volunteer
effort. Citizen first-aid specialists serve industry and
the community. They staff volunteer ambulance corps and
paramedical groups, and provide first response to rescue
people who are trapped or immobilized in some way. This
even extends to the National Ski Patrol that offers aid on
wintry mountain slopes.
Volunteers are the silver lining in the cloud of disaster.
They mobilize to assist officials in time of flood, fire,
earthquakes, tornadoes and hurricanes; build barricades and
dikes; provide emergency shelter and care; clear debris;
and then help to rebuild afterward.
Crime prevention is another focal point of volunteer
activity. Citizens police their own communities in
"neighborhood watches" for mutual protection, and provide
safe houses for children along school routes. Volunteers
directly support police departments by handling
non-emergency police functions such as supporting juvenile
diversion activities, assisting at parades and public
ceremonies, and traffic control. They staff police reserve
units and auxiliaries; gather and analyze statistics.
"Crimesolvers" projects encourage witnesses to provide
clues that can lead to the apprehension of criminals.
Volunteers also help in searches for missing persons.
Finally, civilian review boards monitor police department
practices to ensure compliance with legal standards and
human rights protections.
In cases where crime could not be prevented, volunteers are
also on hand to help the courts and the correctional
system. They handle a variety of assignments -- serving as
court watchers, probation and parole mentors, temporary
foster parents, counselors and recreation aides. Teen
juries of youthful volunteers help in reaching dispositions
for juvenile offenders, while adult volunteers staff
arbitration boards. Volunteers assist victims of crime as
they go through the legal process and give similar aid to
crime witnesses who agree to testify. Finally, the
various bar associations -- national, state and local -- consider it a professional obligation to
coordinate pro
bono legal services to indigent clients.
In prisons and correctional institutions, community
volunteers visit inmates and act as activity leaders,
instructors, lay ministers and counselors. As inmates
leave prison, volunteers assist with a variety of re-entry
services for ex-offenders, ranging from locating housing
and jobs to supportive counseling.
The very word "community" implies mutual aid and
cooperative action. Many of the volunteer roles mentioned
above contribute substantially to the quality of life in a
community. Certainly at the neighborhood level, the
integration of local government and its citizens can be
quite personal. Government coordination and volunteer
action combine to increase public safety, public health and
the quality of public education. This even extends to
neighborhood clean-up campaigns, anti-litter and "adopt a
highway" programs and community gardens. Civic events
such as parades, holiday festivities or community concerts
may be coordinated by a government employee, but the
helping hands (and feet!) of many volunteers are vital.
Some cities and counties have an Office of Volunteers that
places interested citizens into assignments, including
helping with the daily work of government offices.
Registrants at professional volunteer management
conferences reflect the wide variety of government staffers
who are responsible for recruiting and working with
volunteers. In addition to employees connected to the
types of volunteer programs already described, paid
coordinators of volunteers function at the Internal Revenue
Service (its VITA program helps thousands of older and poor
citizens to file their tax returns), the National
Aeronautics and Space Administration (engaging scientists
and interested citizens in support of space exploration),
and the National Park Service (fielding volunteers at every
national park site). Volunteers turn up in many other
unexpected places -- such as Virginia Beach, Virginia, where
the local streets department recruits neighborhood
volunteers to communicate information on street repairs and
construction projects.
In a time of searching for values, we can look to
volunteers as one source of inspiration. Similarly,
volunteering in a government program activates citizenship.
There are many reasons for welcoming citizen participation.
One is purely economic: Volunteer services stretch
available tax dollars to cover even more than would have
been possible otherwise. This is a way to keep taxes
manageable and still provide seriously needed programs.
But the value of volunteering is far greater than
financial. When residents participate in providing
government services, they develop a sense of ownership, a
commitment to community improvement that is both the right
and privilege of a taxpayer.
The Military
Americans speak of the U.S. military as a "volunteer army."
What we mean, of course, is that it is an army made up of people who chose to enlist (U.S.
citizens no longer have a mandatory military service requirement). Military service for some is a
job
and for others a career. Its members are salaried, and are
offered lifelong financial benefits. But there are unpaid
supporters -- volunteers -- on hand as well.
Throughout U.S. history, volunteers have been on the front
lines and on the home front in support of war efforts -- and, occasionally, to protest the use of
military force.
In addition, there is an expansive system of military
reserve units, National Guard companies and civil defense
programs in place. In times of war, volunteers have
provided a wide range of support services to those at the
front. The United Service Organization has had an
impressive history of arranging tours by leading
entertainers and other personalities to troops on the
battlefronts, and also continues to provide facilities for
rest and recuperation to military personnel on leave.
Voluntary support involves other projects as well -- for
instance, keeping lines of communication open to fighting
men and women through correspondence and holiday gift-
giving, programs that normally mobilize thousands, often
including elementary schoolchildren and civic groups. This
support extends to families awaiting the return of loved
ones in the military. Think, for a moment, about the
volunteers who coordinated the yellow ribbon distributions
and placements across the United States during Operation
Desert Storm. Other citizens spend leisure time working in
veterans hospitals. Furthermore, citizen efforts rally all
Americans to commemorate fallen personnel on specific
holidays, and to raise funds for statues and monuments in
their memory.
Each branch of the armed services maintains a social
service delivery system that involves volunteers in
counseling service people and their families, particularly
for marital problems and spouse employment (examples are
the Army Community Service and the National Guard Family
Support Program). When the military and the nation are
faced with concerns about personnel missing in action, or
captured as prisoners of war, or held hostage, affected
families and other volunteers work to obtain information
about, and speed the return of, these Americans in peril.
Often, military campaigns have elicited strong responses
from groups of citizens. Whether the scale of activity is
modest -- such as writing individual letters to legislators -- or more ambitious -- such as
participating in a protest
rally in Washington -- it is volunteer-driven. It is a sign
of a healthy democracy that debate about military
engagement can occur publicly. And both sides use the same
tactics: petitions, marches, rallies and the efforts of as
many volunteers as possible.
Volunteering by Government Officials
Although the general impression is that government workers
are paid, the fact is that in smaller and rural
communities, many local government services are only needed
on a part-time basis. It is possible to extend resources,
therefore, by having a community's citizenry volunteering
for a host of responsibilities. In tiny communities, town
officials often serve without pay or with only a modest
stipend for expenses. Similarly, all levels of government
create "commissions," advisory councils and task forces to
oversee or advise on a wide array of public activities.
Members of these groups are usually drawn from the private
sector, and therefore receive little or no remuneration.
School board members, though typically elected, also serve
without a salary.
It is interesting to note that every candidate for
political office is a "volunteer." None receives a
government paycheck until (and unless) elected. The U.S.
political process requires the involvement of thousands of
volunteers for election campaigns and political party
activities -- ranging from distributing leaflets to
monitoring the polls on Election Day.
Workplace volunteering is of keen interest these days. A
growing number of businesses are encouraging their
employees to volunteer on their own time -- and even on
company time.
Government, as a major employer, also sponsors this type of
community building. Police officers, for example, organize
volunteer opportunities, often aimed at young people.
Local chapters of the Police Athletic League and DARE (a
drug awareness program in primary and secondary schools
across the United States) exist only because of volunteers.
Throughout the country, government agencies at every level
participate in locally sponsored days of service,
encouraging teams of employees, for instance, to clean up
parks. On an individual basis, elected officials often
continue personal volunteer work they began before running
for office, or accept new volunteer work as role models for
others. A number of governors and mayors tutor young
people, coach youth sports, or deliver meals to the
homebound.
Citizen Advocacy
From the early colonial days, town meetings were vital for
fostering participatory democracy. In colonial times, the
town meeting represented local government in its totality,
a tradition upheld today in only a few New England towns.
But even as the 20th century comes to a close, town
meetings and public hearings bring out vocal and active
citizens seeking input on the policies that affect their
lives. Every time an American writes to his or her
Congressional representative, it is volunteerism in action.
So, too, are all other advocacies for a cause on all levels
of government -- to change laws and procedures, to educate
the public or to enhance a community -- through marches and
other forms of demonstration. The causes can be as modest
as the placement of traffic signals and speed bumps in a
local neighborhood.
Government-Created Community Service
One final example of volunteerism within government is the
community service that has arisen as a result of government
legislation. It has given rise to a burning question that
preoccupies many in the volunteer sectors -- namely, can
those who are paid for work or compelled to do it be
identified as volunteers?
On a national level, this issue first arose when President
John F. Kennedy created the Peace Corps in 1961. The U.S.
Government offered funds for lodging, food and incidentals
to anyone making an intensive two-year commitment to
represent the United States in service abroad. As Peace
Corps members would not be allowed to hold an outside
paying job during their tenure, this modest monthly sum
was designed to ensure that any qualified American -- on any
economic level -- could join the Peace Corps. Members who
have served, and still serve, do so voluntarily. As a
result, notwithstanding the subsidy for expenses, Peace
Corps members, as well as participants in VISTA (Volunteers
in Service to America), are regarded as volunteers. (The
latest example of stipended service, AmeriCorps,
promulgated under President Clinton, provides an
end-of-term education benefit to the living allowance sum.)
To coordinate these programs, known collectively as
"national service," President Nixon created a U.S.
Government agency called ACTION. President Clinton
replaced it with a broader-based body, the Corporation for
National and Community Service. It includes AmeriCorps,
the Senior Corps (for citizens 55 and above), Learn &
Serve America (fostering school-based service)and AmericaReads (a literacy program).. Funded
by federal
tax dollars matched by state and local money, the
Corporation fans its participants out into nonprofit
agencies, schools or local government projects involving
children with special educational, physical or
psychological needs.
But despite the enthusiastic participation by tens of
thousands of citizens, is this volunteerism? When does a
living allowance become a stipend, and when is that
considered simply a low-income wage? The debate continues,
but as it does, a corps of willing and energetic men and
women of all ages provide services they would be unlikely
or unable to offer without the modest expense sums.
Another unusual example of government-created community
service is the battery of programs established to enable
people to "work off" taxes or fines. Seniors on fixed
incomes or low-income wage-earners are afforded the chance
to contribute a certain number of hours of community
service annually so as to reduce or eliminate any cash
payment obligations they may have to their jurisdiction.
These programs are locally based; there is no comparable
national scheme. And it is the citizen's choice whether or
not to participate. Generally, though, the risks are few
and opportunities great.
This issue of community service comes up in other spheres
as well. Public schools set requirements for students to
complete a fixed number of hours of service in their locale
as a prerequisite for graduation. Courts offer adults and
juveniles the choice of a prescribed number of hours of
service in lieu of fine or incarceration (this is often
called "alternative sentencing"), or ordering the offender
to provide such service in addition to probation or parole.
And welfare reform efforts add the option of service to
that of payroll employment or education as a way to
maintain public assistance benefits.
Because of the conflict over terms and definitions that can
arise, these types of programs are generally referred to as
"community service" rather than "volunteering." In
practice, though, an organization's volunteer office
accepts, trains and manages these special categories of
workers. Furthermore, statistics show that in many
instances, if these workers are treated well and enjoy
their assignments, a percentage of them will continue their
tasks beyond the minimum number of hours specified. In the
last analysis, then, mandated or directed service can lead,
eventually, to true volunteerism.
As we have seen, there are many dimensions to
government-related volunteering. In the United States,
government at all levels depends upon citizen involvement
in a wide variety of ways part of the nature of civil
society and civic engagement. When one considers the
services performed by government employees, and by citizens
deployed through specific government volunteer programs,
the importance of this facet of the volunteer world becomes
mightily clear.
__________
Susan J. Ellis is president of Energize, Inc., a
Philadelphia-based training, consulting and publishing firm
specializing in volunteerism. Energize works
internationally to assist nonprofit, government and
corporate clients to develop or strengthen volunteer
efforts of all kinds. Ellis is the author or co-author of
nine books, and writes a national column, "On Volunteers,"
for The NonProfit Times. Energize's website is
http://www.energizeinc.com.
