This summer, I started learning to make mosaics. The raw materials are intriguing: glass tiles, small stones, scraps of the broken and discarded. Creating a mosaic is an exercise in taking overlooked bits and bobs and finding the whole among the pieces. I can’t help seeing a parallel to volunteer engagement (of course). For many…
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It is easy to feel overwhelmed. Problems seem so big, and our hands and voices seem so small. Yet, there is something powerful about putting our hands to work in a meaningful way. There is something encouraging about discovering voices who are drawn to work that calls us too. It is a gift to have…
Preparations for a course on Volunteer Engagement have me thinking about how we apply diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) principles to volunteerism in meaningful ways. What does DEI look like in volunteer engagement – from design to implementation? How do we invest in volunteerism so that it provides a bridge from the community into the…
I think a lot about the relationship between volunteerism and community. It is easy to see volunteerism as an extension of community. But sometimes I wonder if we need volunteerism because we have a deficit of community. Or that volunteerism is a way that we outsource community to institutions like nonprofits or government agencies. It…