Make ALL volunteering opportunities as accessible as possible
18:38, 18 August 2009
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Recently on UKVPMs, an online discussion group for volunteer managers in the United Kingdom that I read regularly, someone posted a message about making the volunteering opportunities at his organization more accessible for people with disabilities, childcare needs etc. GREAT IDEA!Not so great was the idea to put a symbol next to certain volunteering opportunities so that those who need certain accommodations "can easily see which opportunities they can participate in." YIKES!
I vote yes on making assignments as accessible as possible, but no against a volunteer manager deciding which assignments are accessible and which are not. That decision should be made by potential volunteers themselves! Potential applicants know what they can and cannot do, and each wants to search for opportunities based on their abilities, as well as his or her interests. If the volunteering assignment is very clear about requirements of the task, everyone -- with and without disabilities, with and without childcare needs, etc. -- can self-screen for it.
Instead, a volunteer manager might want to include the accessibility symbol next to a statement before the assignment listing that says, "We strive to make our volunteering opportunities accessible to the largest number of people possible. If you have accessibility requirements that you aren't sure could be accommodated in an assignment in which you are interested, please contact us, so we can work together to accommodate you in this or another assignment."
If you want to put symbols next to, say, those assignments that require working during business hours, or that require a volunteer to use his or her own car, or assignments requiring bi-lingual speakers, that's fine. But don't brand assignments based on accessibility. Instead, keep working to make all assignments as accessible as possible.
Also see
- This PDF file, Provision of Accommodations to Volunteers with Disabilities
- This web page from the Corporation for National Service (USA) on Providing reasonable accommodations for people with disabilities
- Mobility International USA (MIUSA) offers a free booklet to view online, "Moving Towards Inclusion: Stories of People with Disabilities in International Development," that documents success stories of inclusion of people with disabilities in various development activities, not just as recipients of service, but also as volunteers and paid staff. It includes a former Peace Corps volunteer giving a step-by-step account of how Peace Corps Bangladesh made its program more inclusive,
