In addition to researching and compiling information online mentoring (the
most comprehensive information on such, in fact), and helping to
create numerous online mentor programs, including this one for an Austin, Texas elementary
school, I have also had the pleasure of serving as an
online volunteer mentor on several occasions. In 2005 and 2006,
I was an online volunteer blog mentor for the Young
Caucasus Women Project. Recruited from current Future
Leaders Exchange (FLEX) Program students, young women from
Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia currently living in the USA are
being trained in citizen journalism, and part of the training
includes learning to publish their own blogs. Once they learned
the basics of blogging, then the student's own blogging bagan.
Now, at the start of the week, an online volunteer mentor posts
a suggestion for the week's blog topic, and each student posts a
blog of her own on that topic, as well as comments on each
other's blogs. The students may post on other topics throughout
the week as well. This continues until the student leaves the
USA. After the students return to their home countries, they
will receive a monthly blog assignment, but they may post to
their blogs as often as they like. The volunteer mentors are
experienced adult bloggers from around the world, with a
particular focus on bloggers from developing countries who are
having an impact on the dissemination of news from their
countries.
The purpose of this Project is to:
- highlight the similarities and learn about the differences
between young women in these neighboring countries.
- promote citizen journalism in developing countries as an
alternative to mainstream media.
- promote blogs as a method of democratic expression.
- expose young women to journalism and technology.
Mentor's suggested topics that students have been asked to
write blogs on include:
- Volunteerism: just unpaid labor or a tool for empowerment?
(yes, that was mine)
- Strengths and Virtues: what are your strengths of
character? What would it be like to make the cultivation and
employment of your character strengths a significant part of
your life?
- Responsibility: What are your responsibilities right now
and how do you feel about them?
- Friendship from a Distance
I can't speak to how well the program will meet its stated
goals -- that's for someone else to measure and report on. But I
can speak to what it's been like to be an online mentor. In this
most recent experience, from my point of view, what's been
important to remember as a volunteer for this project is:
- that these students are not native English speakers, and
are often self-conscious about expressing themselves in
writing in this language that is not their own
- that volunteer mentors and students will never meet
face-to-face, so volunteer mentors need to maintain a very
positive, upbeat approach in their written communications, so
that students feel warmly supported by them
- that volunteer mentors are adults, and need to be careful
not to talk "over the heads" of these students, all of whom
are teens, or to write something that sounds overly critical
or sounds in any way insulting
- that these students come from areas with very different
values, very different standards of living and very different
beliefs than those of "the West."
- that misunderstandings are bound to happen; you work to
avoid them, but when they happen, you work to mend and hurt
feelings.
As with all online mentor experiences, the
hardest part is when my role is over, and the young person moves
on -- I will wonder what different I made, if any, if the young
people are doing well, how their interests and planned activities
have manifested, and if there is more I could do. But various
issues -- most especially safety and logistics -- keep such
continued relationships from happening.
If you are interested in creating an online mentoring program,
for young people or adults, see the Virtual Volunteering
Project's information
online mentoring -- still the most comprehensive
information available.
Also:
- Microvolunteering
is virtual volunteering
A rebuttal on my blog to the claim that microvolunteering isn't
virtual volunteering.
- Short-term Assignments for
Tech Volunteers
There are a variety of ways for mission-based organizations to
involve volunteers to help with short-term projects
relating to computers and the Internet, and short-term
assignments are what are sought after most by potential "tech"
volunteers. But there is a disconnect: most organizations have
trouble identifying such short-term projects. This is a list
of short-term projects for "tech" volunteers -- assignments
that might takes days, weeks or just a couple of months to
complete.
- One(-ish) Day "Tech"
Activities for Volunteers
Volunteers are getting together for intense, one-day events,
or events of just a few days, to build web pages, to write
code, to edit Wikipedia pages, and more. These are gatherings
of onsite volunteers, where everyone is in one location,
together, to do an online-related project in one day, or a few
days. It's a form of episodic volunteering, because volunteers
don't have to make an ongoing commitment - they can come to
the event, contribute their services, and then leave and never
volunteer again. Because computers are involved, these events
are sometimes called hackathons, even if coding isn't
involved. This page provides advice on how to put together a
one-day event, or just-a-few-days-of activity, for a group of
tech volunteers onsite, working together, for a nonprofit,
non-governmental organization (NGO), community-focused
government program, school or other mission-based organization
- or association of such.
- Finding a
Computer/Network Consultant
Staff at mission-based organizations (nonprofits, civil
society organizations, and public sector agencies) often have
to rely on consultants, either paid or volunteer, for
expertise in computer hardware, software and networks. Staff
may feel unable to understand, question nor challenge whatever
that consultant recommends. What can mission-based
organizations do to recruit the "right" consultant for "tech"
related issues, one that will not make them feel
out-of-the-loop or out-of-control when it comes to
tech-related discussions?
- Myths About Online Volunteering
(Virtual Volunteering)
Online volunteering means unpaid service that is given by
volunteers via the Internet. It's also known as virtual
volunteering, online mentoring, ementoring, evolunteering,
cyber volunteering, cyber service, telementoring, online
engagement, and on and on. Here is a list of common myths
about online volunteering, and my attempt to counter them.
- Studies and Research
Regarding Online Volunteering / Virtual Volunteering
While there is a plethora of articles and information about
online volunteering, there has been very little research
published regarding the subject. This is a compilation of
publicly-available research regarding online volunteering, and
a list of suggested possible angles for researching online
volunteering. New contributions to this page are welcomed,
including regarding online mentoring programs.
- Incorporating virtual
volunteering into a corporate employee volunteer program
(a resource for businesses / for-profit companies)
Virtual volunteering - volunteers providing service via a
computer, smart phone, tablet or other networked advice -
presents a great opportunity for companies to expand their
employee philanthropic offerings. Through virtual
volunteering, some employees will choose to help organizations
online that they are already helping onsite. Other employees
who are unable to volunteer onsite at a nonprofit or school
will choose to volunteer online because of the convenience.
- Creating One-Time, Short-Term
Group Volunteering Activities
Details on not just what groups of volunteers can do in a
two-hour, half-day or all-day event, but also just how much an
organization or program will need to do to prepare a site for
group volunteering. It's an expensive, time-consuming endeavor
- are you ready? Is it worth it?
- Recruiting Local
Volunteers To Increase Diversity Among the Ranks
Having plenty of volunteers usually isn't enough to say a
volunteering program is successful. Another indicator of
success is if your volunteers represent a variety of ages,
education-levels, economic levels and other demographics, or
are a reflection of your local community. Most organizations
don't want volunteers to be a homogeneous group; they want to
reach a variety of people as volunteers (and donors and other
supporters, for that matter). This resource will help you
think about how to recruit for diversity, or to reach a
specific demographic.
- Using Third Party Web Sites
& Volunteer Matching Apps to Recruit Volunteers
There are lots and lots of web sites out there to help your
organization recruit volunteers. You don't have to use them
all, but you do need to make sure you use them correctly
in order to get the maximum response to your posts.
- Using Video to Support Online
Volunteers/Remote Volunteers.
Video is a great way to further support volunteers, and your
computer probably already has all of the tools you need to
make a video, or to engage in a live video conversation with
others. Video isn't something to use only with online
volunteers or remote volunteers (those providing onsite
service at a different location than yours). It's also a tool
you can use with new and current volunteers. In addition to an
organization producing videos for volunteers, it can also work
the other way around: volunteers can produce videos for
organizations. This resource provides information on your
options, and links to my own short video on the subject.
- Using Real-Time
Communications With Volunteers
A growing number of organizations are using real-time
communications -- including video conferencing, online phone
calls, chats and instant messaging -- to hold online meetings
with volunteers, to allow volunteers to interact with staff,
clients, or each other, or to involve volunteers in a live,
online, real-time event. This resource provides more
information on real-time communications with volunteers --
what the various tools are, how agencies are using them to
interact with volunteers, and tips to encourage and maintain
participation in synchronous communications.
- Recognizing Online Volunteers
& Using the Internet to Honor ALL Volunteers
Recognition helps volunteers stay committed to your
organization, and gets the attention of potential volunteers
-- and donors -- as well. Organizations need to fully
recognize the efforts of remote, online volunteers, as well as
those onsite, and not differentiate the value of these two
forms of service. Organizations should also incorporate use of
the Internet to recognize the efforts of ALL volunteers, both
online and onsite. With cyberspace, it's never been easier to
show volunteers -- and the world -- that volunteers are a key
part of your organization's successes. This new resource
provides a long list of suggestions for both honoring online
volunteers and using the Internet to recognize ALL volunteers
that contribute to your organization..
- Lessons from
onlinevolunteering.org
Some key learnings from directing the UN's Online
Volunteering service from February 2001 to February 2005,
including support materials for those using the service to
host online volunteers.
The Last Virtual Volunteering Guidebook 
my home page
how to support my work & this
web site
