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Karen Jacobs: Welcome to the 2011 DHS Volunteerism Conference.
We're excited. I am excited because this is one of the years that we
pulled it all together.
We get to make friends and we get to network and talk about programs
and ways that we can collaborate to make our communities better.
Amy Walling: I don't think people understand that a lot of things that go on
throughout the state happen through volunteerism.
So, I'm a big advocate for volunteerism so, I just figured this was
probably the spot to help out for the year.
I know it's a huge event and one of the major events at DHS.
Kacy Wallace: We have a volunteer that comes in and I think it just helps.
I mean, it takes some of the stress off of my workers so that
the volunteer can do a lot of their filing and
just keep them caught up.
Martin J. Cowling: I think there are three impacts that volunteering has.
The first is on the community.
We wouldn't have the infrastructure in our communities that we have
if it wasn't for volunteers.
If you think about the Fire Services in many communities, the
Ambulance Services, the Meals On Wheels Services, all of those things.
We wouldn't have those if it wasn't for volunteers.
We have some happy, celebrating volunteers
in the background over there.
The second impact is volunteers actually make is on the people
they're serving.
And so, someone actually getting services from
another human being for no expectation of payment--there's a
powerful psychological and spiritual relationship going on there.
And I think when you actually see that...if you've seen that movie,
Pay it Forward, people who have seen that movie understand that when
we actually make a difference in someone's life, they can make a
difference in someone else's life and that can actually
"pay it forward."
The third impact is that volunteering changes
the person that volunteers.
I've seen people who've grown in confidence, who've built relationships,
who've developed skills because of the way they volunteer.
Those are the three major changes that I actually
see in volunteering.
We have six typhoons of change impacting on volunteering. 
And you
have to be the crazy people who are going to surf through them.
The first wave of economics: see, if you're an organization that's
relying on funding from the government, or if you are a government
body... hello.
Your budgets are going to remain under pressure
for another eight years.
I told you it was depressing.
Previously, volunteers would absorb costs that today
they will not absorb.
In some research that came out of Australia
the number one reason why people said, "I will not volunteer 
is because I cannot afford the cost."
We however under-resource, under-value and
under-support volunteering.
We think that volunteering is something that just happens by magic.
And many people do not know of the extent and impact of volunteering
until they need a service delivered by volunteers.
Then, suddenly they realize the impact and extent of volunteering.
I think that we are facing a tidal wave that says we don't
understand the resources volunteering needs.
I think that we need to face up to that tidal wave and
turn it around.
We need to start to talk to people about what the benefits and
costs of volunteering.
One of the interesting things is that there are some clear
differences between the generations and the way they volunteer, their
attitudes to volunteering.
So, the views that these generations have are formed
by a whole lot of events.
A 15-year-old in the 1940s is very different to a 15-year-old today.
In fact, research suggests that somebody that was 15 in the 1940s
trying to talk to a 15-year-old today... it's like talking to an alien
life form. 
Because the views and the language are so different.
Those attitudes are impacting on volunteering.
The Silent Generation are called that because their attitude to
volunteering is done quietly and in an ongoing fashion.
They actually keep a huge fabric of the United States going
in terms of volunteering.
For these volunteers, volunteering actually gives them identity.
They get their identity from their volunteer work and
from the agency.
If we change the agency or we change the volunteer work,
what are we changing? Them.
That's why they can be very resistant to change because we don't
like being changed.
Some of the characteristics of Baby Boomers:
they are a consumer generation.
Sorry, Baby Boomers. 
You are a consumer generation. 
And their
attitude to volunteering is of consuming.
They're consuming... I talked about this this morning,
briefly... they're consuming an experience and
they're paying for it with their time.
For a Baby Boomer, for anyone in America, time is valuable.
For a Baby Boomer, time is doubly valuable.
Sorry Baby Boomers, you can start to see mortality and you want to
make the most of life right now, thank you very much.
So, when they come in to volunteer from you, Baby Boomers are
wanting to get an experience that is meaningful for them.
Now, the meaning will vary from person to person.
It will be linked to their values, but they don't want to waste
their time with your organization.
The interesting thing in the United States is that figures are
showing that every time a Baby Boomer hits 50, they're
dropping out of volunteering.
Baby Boomers like to challenge systems.
Eventually they'll settle down, but they like to challenge systems.
Some of the characteristics of Generation X:
They're very results-focused.
They want when they volunteer, they want to get the job done.
They don't want to sit in an endless meeting.
They don't want endless training.
They want to come in, get the job done, and go.
They actually say, "I want to learn through volunteering.
I actually want to learn... 
I want my kids to learn through volunteering."
They actually state it up front,
which you don't hear from other generations.
Gen Y, they are highly entrepreneurial.
They are able to get all the resources anywhere in the world
to achieve something.
The fascinating thing about Gen Ys is they're seeing
community, social and global issues
and they're responding.
They'll see a need, they'll text 20 of their friends, and say,
"Let's go to the soup kitchen tomorrow."
You may never see them again, but they'll come.
Next week they'll plant trees.
The iGen, the Internet Generation,
Why do we call them the Internet Generation?
Because the internet is not new.
The Silent Generation--the messages we should be using,
"Gather together and build."
The Baby Boomers, "You can change the world on your terms."
Generation X, the message we should be sending out is,
"Respect my time."
Generation Y, "Let you build the answers."
Generation Z or iGen, "Expose me to my future."
The fourth wave of volunteering is
that volunteering is changing anyway.
The fifth wave is more rules.
Ten years ago, if you wanted to be a volunteer,
we checked you if you had a pulse.
If you had a pulse, you were a volunteer.
Volunteers see volunteering not as work but as
a leisure or learning opportunity.
Organizations see volunteering as an extension
of the paid workforce.
So, we're turning volunteering into work and what that's doing is
volunteers are starting to say, "Volunteering is not fun anymore."
If you're not on the net... I've already said it today...
you are invisible.
So, what do we need to do?
The first thing is 74% of volunteers want greater flexibility.
That's a challenge for us if we're running organizations that don't
want or don't offer flexible opportunities.
Volunteers are wanting meaningful, results-orientated volunteering.
The days of locking a volunteer in an office and giving them a bunch
of envelopes and things to fold are long gone.
That's your job.
The volunteers are out to do interesting stuff.
We need to give people a variety of options.
You can't just give people the one option for volunteering.
You need to say to people, "You can volunteer in multiple ways."
Now, if you only have one option, join with another organization,
another department, another section.
See, you can actually swap volunteers between organizations,
departments or sections.
People want bite-sized volunteering.
They want something they can bite and hang onto.
People want learning in volunteering.
Volunteers are saying, "I want to be treated with R-E-S-P-E-C-T."
Often we treat volunteers as if they're sub-human.
Suzette Felton: It's not just one side giving to the other.
It's both sides giving with a common goal
of just being community-oriented.
Eyvonna lemons: You see so many people, you know, they don't have a lot of money,
and instead of giving money they give of themselves.
I think that that's, especially in the rural areas that we come
from, that's exactly what happens.
You see people giving their time,not necessarily money,
but they're giving their time and their heart.
Martin J. Cowling: The first thing I think is that we need to see everyone as people
and not, "You're a volunteer, you're an employee," but they're all people working together.
Sometimes we turn volunteers into non-people, so we treat them as if
they don't have skills or knowledge or ability.
So, we need to see people as part of the team.
We need to start to see our human resources as paid but volunteer
employee and contractors.
That's the first starting point to see someone as part of your team.
The second is to find out what are their skills--what are the skills
they volunteer, what are their interests as a volunteer?
Because each person is actually going to be different and if you actually can
match their skills, their interests to what you need,
you're going to have a better, successful volunteer relationship.
Because if volunteers are actually doing what they want to do,
they'll do it more often and more effectively.