Volunteering a path to employment

SERVE AND PROTECT: Serve Rhode Island Executive Director Bernie Beaudreau leads a discussion on new nonprofit programs as American Cancer Society Community Executive of Health Initiatives Cheryl Albright looks on. / PBN PHOTO/NATALJA KENT
SERVE AND PROTECT: Serve Rhode Island Executive Director Bernie Beaudreau leads a discussion on new nonprofit programs as American Cancer Society Community Executive of Health Initiatives Cheryl Albright looks on. / PBN PHOTO/NATALJA KENT

Children’s Friend is a looking for a graphic designer, a translator and a marketing and development professional.
They’ve advertised for the positions but not on traditional job boards. And that’s because the posts are not for employment – they are for volunteers.
However, job seekers are encouraged to apply.
“Volunteering is always a good idea when you’re looking for work, because you’re experiencing a variety of tasks and all those skills are really helpful,” said Sarah Martone, development associate at Children’s Friend, a Providence nonprofit that works to better the lives of at-risk children through social-service programs. “You’re staying relevant. There are a lot of things you’re exposed to that impact directly to a job search.”
The organization has advertised volunteer opportunities, which also include the need for volunteers in human resources, data entry and administration on ‘HandsOn Connect,’ Serve Rhode Island’s online volunteer opportunities and connecting system.
The site was implemented last December as part of Serve Rhode Island’s 2013-2015 State Service Plan that is focused on promoting volunteerism and service, building the capacity of nonprofit organizations and better meeting the needs of community organizations and their served populations.
“There are hundreds of these opportunities at any given time,” said Bernie Beaudreau, executive director of Serve Rhode Island, the Providence nonprofit that serves as the state’s volunteer center and commission for national and community service. “What makes it all work is having the real opportunities to present. It needs the nonprofit to organize real work to be done and make it available.”
Serve RI adopted HandsOn Connect, a national volunteer-management service from Atlanta-based Points of Light, after identifying a need for increased marketing for volunteer opportunities.
The strategic plan also identified a community-based need to link volunteerism to workforce development with a focus on the long-term unemployed to both offer them a cost-free opportunity to practice and build skills and give nonprofits a way to expand their volunteer base. According to a survey of nonprofits conducted for Serve RI’s strategic plan, Rhode Island nonprofits project a 24 percent growth this year from last in need for volunteers.
“Where we think we could contribute is to get people who really need to be reassimilated into the workforce, learn and be good prospects for the next employer,” Beaudreau said. “Nonprofits can really benefit from folks who are out there and who want to help.”
Rhode Island’s unemployment rate, reported at 10.2 percent for December 2012, is tied for the worst in the country. Volunteering can be one way to gain additional experience to fill available jobs.
“One of the things we repeatedly hear from employers who are trying to find good candidates for their jobs is that applicants sometimes lack readiness that often comes from work experience,” said Rick Brooks, executive director of the Governor’s Workforce Board. “In this time of high unemployment, one way to get the work experience can be volunteering or being an intern or other forms of experiential learning that might not be as an employee but may lead to employment.”
Serve RI had previous success with this model in a 2009 pilot program that placed 40 women within the state’s public-assistance program into nonprofits to build work skills.
Beaudreau said six of those women went on to find employment.
The organization’s focus now will be finding partnerships with workforce-development organizations and matching them with nonprofits for a structured internship program.
Beaudreau said the idea is for an eight- to 12-week commitment of 20 to 30 hours per week for an unpaid internship that would result in a performance assessment, evaluation and letter of recommendation that the intern, in addition to putting the work on their resume, could have in their pocket for their job search.
Beaudreau said there are at least a dozen Rhode Island nonprofits interested in forming such programs.
It’s also an opportunity for job seekers to further develop the soft skills that employers have complained also are lacking in many candidates.
“I think it’s part of this larger discussion around workforce development, unemployment, and that there are a lot of people looking at how you give folks meaningful experience, hands-on education and work experience that translates to employability,” said Jessica David, vice president for strategy planning and special projects at The Rhode Island Foundation. The American Cancer Society’s Rhode Island chapter has also had volunteer opportunities advertised on HandsOn Connect, including for cosmetologists to participate in its ‘Look Good? Feel Better’ program that offers self-help instruction and education to cancer patients for hairstyling, skin care and makeup.
Cheryl Albright, community executive for health initiatives, said she sees many newly licensed cosmetologists come to the society to get real-world experience while they are job hunting.
But skills can be gained from any type of volunteer activity, Albright said, from administrative and computer work to making patient phone calls and helping out at health fairs.
“Volunteers get good communication skills. It shows accountability with an organization,” she said.
Making a more aggressive, organized effort to sell volunteering as a step toward employment would take a reorganization of nonprofit recruitment efforts. And that could be difficult when community-based organizations are struggling with reduced staff and resources.
According to the survey of nonprofits for Serve RI’s strategic plan, 57 percent of nonprofits reported they do not have a volunteer coordinator position. It also would involve marketing volunteering specifically as a career-building tool, when the average resident might see the prospect more as giving up a weekend afternoon to plant trees or clean up a polluted stream.
“You might be able to really tap into the skill set of volunteers beyond manual labor and projects, which are always important and helpful, but there might be business skills or artistic talents that nonprofits may be able to make use of if they can [plan],” said Jill Pfitzenmayer, vice president of the Initiative for Nonprofit Excellence at The Rhode Island Foundation. “I think that pooling resources could be helpful. It requires a different way of thinking.” •

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