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This information was last updated on October 2, 2000

Online volunteering programs can allow for the greater participation of people who might find volunteering difficult or impossible because of a disability. This in turn allows organizations to benefit from the additional talent and resources of more volunteers, and allows agencies to further diversify their volunteer talent pool.

People with disabilities volunteer for the same reasons as anyone else: they want to contribute their time and energy to improving the quality of life. They want challenging, rewarding, educational service projects that address needs of a community and provide them with outlets for their enthusiasm and talents.

Just as building designs can help persons in wheelchairs to navigate doorways, there are ways to accommodate persons with disabilities to serve in virtual volunteering programs. The Virtual Volunteering Project Team researches and documents ways to accommodate and encourage such persons in online volunteering programs. Our goal is to help agencies develop online volunteering programs and systems flexible enough to meet the needs and preferences of the broadest range of users of computers and telecommunications equipment, regardless of age or disability.

Harris poll results from June of 2000 report that 48 percent of people with disabilities who have access to the Internet believe that it has significantly improved their quality of life, compared 27 percent of the adults without disabilities. Therefore, people with disabilities already see the true value of online communications, and are in a prime position to provide volunteering via the Internet.

People with disabilities who volunteer, online or onsite, are first and foremost VOLUNTEERS, not "disabled" volunteers. Bringing people with disabilities into a volunteer program should be conducted in the same spirit as it is for those without disabilities.(1)

"For too long, individuals with disabilities have been viewed as recipients, not providers of service. However, many are fully capable and willing to provide service to others in their community. Their desire to become active volunteers should not be overlooked. Their involvement should not be merely as token volunteers, but as fully-participating, active, and responsible partners of the community service team." (2)

Mitsubishi Electric America Foundation (MEAF) awarded grants to the Virtual Volunteering Project in 1998 and 1999 to help us document and promote ways for agencies to involve and accommodate volunteers with disabilities. MEAF staff also act as active participants in the projects the Foundation supports, and the Foundation encourages all grantees to collaborate on various activities. We are most grateful for their support.

The Virtual Volunteering Project Team has compiled information in the following areas:

• Working via the Internet with
  volunteers who have disabilities
  Tips for outreach, accommodations, conversation, volunteer orientation and matching, evaluation and staff training. Includes information on accommodations for online volunteers who have learning disabilities or emotional and anxiety disorders.

• First Person: Benefits of Virtual Volunteering
  for People With Disabilities
  The Virtual Volunteering Project has received testimonials via our online survey and online volunteer application from people with disabilities serving as online volunteers for various organizations around the United States. These are excerpts, showing first hand how virtual volunteering creates new opportunities for people with disabilities.

• Examples of Experiences Involving Online Volunteers and Youth With Disabilities
  A few real-life examples of how volunteers and youth with disabilities are interacting with others via Cyberspace, to give other agencies an idea of the limitless possibilities and benefits of virtual volunteering.

• Making an agency virtually accessible to people with disabilities
  The Virtual Volunteering Project's own suggestions for Web site design, as well as links to other organizations.

• Online information on disability-related issues in general
  For agencies seeking more information about the concerns of disabled population. Good resources to use in staff training.