[NLA] Volunteers and credentials

[Mary Lynn Carver]

Deborah -
SOOO well said! Thanks for expressing what many programs do so well!  Our
volunteers are our students (& program's) lifeline.  I especially appreciated
your comment about volulnteers as ambassadors to the larger community and the
difference between paid and volunteer roles.  Our staff of five could never
serve the 200+ students in our program without our volunteers.  Thanks for
expressing so eloquently what this "lurker" wanted to say.

Mary Lynn Carver, M.Ad.Ed.
Assistant Literacy Coordinator
Lake County Adult Learning Connection
Waukegan Public Library
Waukegan, IL  60085
mlcarver at nslsilus.org

Debbie Yoho wrote:

> Andrea asks:
>
> "Both you and Nancy see volunteers as crucial.  Because you couldn't afford
> paid staff?  Or because the volunteers give something different?"
>
> Most emphatically because they give something different.  First, from the
> standpoint of the learner:
>
>  In a specialized program that is centered on one-to-one, and has the
> learner's self-esteem and motivation as a primary goal, an unpaid volunteer
> is indeed different.  First, the volunteer is a representative of the
> community, living evidence of care and concern we should all have for one
> another regardless of status or background, concern that has no strings
> attached and that is motivated solely by belief in the worth of that
> individual.  That is not to say that paid staff may not have similiar
> motivation and care.  But I have met many paid staff doing many types of
> work, including adult education, who express not just a lack of care but
> downright disrespect, and passionate motivation to advance something other
> than the learner's individual agenda.  I have never had a volunteer tell me
> "That's not my job" or "I'm not being paid enough to do that", or "I am the
> expert and I know best." That is not to say that all volunteers are
> motivated by altruism; some are definitely not.  But in my experience, most
> are.
>
> Second, from the standpoint of advancing the field:
>
> As a representative of the community, the volunteer is in a unique position
> to advocate for and with adult learners.  This is a no-brainer when it
> comes to fundraising and political activity.  The funders and
> decision-makers listen differently to  community voices expressing a
> community need, than they do to employees whose jobs are involved. K-12
> leaders know they can get a lot more action from a school board if parents
> speak out than if the staff does.  Whether or not this should be the
> dynamic is beside the point; it is the reality.
>
> Volunteer program leadership is also different, again in its link to the
> peculiar local needs of the community, especially in this age of such
> diversity. Where private funds are involved, volunteer leadership acts as
> an accountability factor.
>
> Finally, I would be disingenuous not to acknowledge the issue of cost
> savings.  I do not believe the American taxpayer in this capitalist nation
> will ever be motivated by any means to pay the entire bill for quality
> services to 44 million adults.  With adults as well as children, "it takes
> the whole village", not just the public sector. Volunteers are links to all
> kinds of collaborations and partnerships.
>
> Andrea also asks:
>
> "Where do credentials come in here?  (Except as an impossible requirement
> for
> volunteers.)"
>
> Credentials are not an impossible requirement for volunteers.  In fact,
> credentials should be a definite requirement for volunteers.  With some
> encouragement (if there is real interest on this list to explore this
> thread further) I'd be happy to share what our volunteers can and can't do,
> what their training consists of, how they are monitored and evaluated, etc.
>
> In summary, the emphasis in my answer to you, Andrea, is on the word
> DIFFERENT.  The volunteer role and the paid professional role are
> DIFFERENT, not interchangeable. Both are critical.
>
> If Texas is moving in the direction of removing the volunteer factor from
> adult education, I predict this will be regretted and won't last.  Besides,
> it can't be stopped anyway.  All a caring volunteer has to do is sit down
> with someone and share their time.  Volunteer literacy is well established
> worldwide.  But imagine what could be accomplished if the US AELS system
> were built on the best of all the resources available, including the
> volunteer.
>
> The issue of credentials should not be framed by asking WHO should have
> credentials.  It is implicit that credentials are important.  The question
> is WHAT credentials to do WHAT task?
>
> Deborah W. Yoho, MAT, EdS
> Co-moderator, NIFL-Health  and
> Executive Director
> Greater Columbia Literacy Council
> 921 Woodrow Street, Columbia, SC  29205
> 803-765-2555   Fax  803-779-8417   dwyoho at earthlink.net
>
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