{"id":4420,"date":"2019-01-31T03:35:58","date_gmt":"2019-01-31T11:35:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/coyotecommunications.com\/coyoteblog\/?p=4420"},"modified":"2020-08-31T13:25:36","modified_gmt":"2020-08-31T20:25:36","slug":"statewildlife","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/coyotecommunications.com\/coyoteblog\/2019\/01\/statewildlife\/","title":{"rendered":"Paying thousands to volunteer abroad & ignoring same opportunities at home"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Late last year, I did an all-day training for a state fish and wildlife department – a government agency – about how to better engage volunteers: how to better design tasks for a variety of volunteers, to better support volunteers, to better track what they are doing and to recruit – not just recruiting volunteers to get tasks done, but also to recruit in order to reach a variety of communities and people. The people I taught\u00a0were a mix of biologists and long-time volunteer leaders who had never had training in volunteer management.<\/p>\n

(read more about my consulting services<\/a> and training work<\/a>)<\/p>\n

Before doing this type of intensive, specialized training, I do a lot\u00a0of research to look at what similar organizations might be doing, trends that the client might want to consider, etc. One of the things that struck me as I was researching state fish and wildlife departments all over the USA was how many activities\u00a0these agencies have for volunteers that people will pay thousands to go do in another country: building and repairing fish and wildlife habitats, counting wildlife, reporting on habitat conditions and more.<\/p>\n

I thought about how this is true of so many other\u00a0agencies as well: there are nonprofits and government programs all over the USA that will help people learn English, that help refugees navigate their new homes, that help people better understand the risks associated with HIV\/AIDS, that help people who have lost their home, that help impoverished women with maternal health and infant care, and on and on – yet, people are willing to pay thousands of dollars for voluntourism experiences that make them feel like they are helping refugees, helping children, helping people at risk, etc., rather than participating in these programs just around the corner – or, at least, in their own country.<\/p>\n

I don’t like voluntourism, where people pay money to go\u00a0to another country and feel like they are helping people or the environment in just a few weeks, and I blog about my distaste frequently.\u00a0So many – not all, but so many – are scams:\u00a0a supposed wildlife sanctuary captures wild animals and puts them into enclosures and then sells voluntourism experiences, bringing in foreigners to “help.” A supposed orphanage is full of children who have parents, but the parents are paid to keep their children in the “orphanage” so that foreigners will pay large sums of money to come from overseas and “help.” The organizations take anyone who can pay – they don’t need anyone with actual skills or expertise because, supposedly, no one locally can do this “work”, so they must bring in anyone from abroad with “a good heart.” Sure, there are some worthwhile organizations for short-term volunteering abroad – and I list them on this free resource on my web site<\/a>. But most are, to me, loathsome.<\/p>\n

But I also am puzzled as to why so many nonprofits and government agencies in the USA – and other countries – do such a lousy job of talking about their volunteering opportunities. When I told the state agency I was training that people pay thousands of dollars to go do in, say, Kenya, many of the same volunteering tasks\u00a0that this state agency struggles to find volunteering activities for, they were stunned. But it’s true!<\/p>\n

Have a look at some of those shiny, heart-warming voluntourism sites. I’m not going to link to them here, but trust me, they are easy to find on Google<\/a> or Bing<\/a>. Look at photos on their sites, the language they use – look how much fun they make volunteering sound, or how they make volunteering sound like a challenge worthy of traveling thousands of miles for – and paying top dollar to experience. Now look at your organization’s web site: how does your agency talk about volunteers and the activities they do? Don’t oversell your program<\/a>, but do recognize that any activity that allows volunteers to be outside, to be very physical, or to interact with clients are highly desired by many<\/em> people.<\/strong> What you may see as just more work to do they may see as an opportunity to make a real difference in a cause they care about deeply.<\/p>\n

Here’s more of my advice on volunteer recruitment<\/strong>:<\/p>\n