1. Austin Free-Net classes are taught by volunteers, we recruit online and we maintain 2 web sites

2. I became interested as part of my over all interest in the ability of technology and the Web to provide unprecedented opportunities to people with disabilities. Virtual volunteering can give home bound people challenging and rewarding ways to interact with the wider community.

3. Our volunteers are almost all reachable through email and the internet. Many are professional women or students who can "virtually" volunteer for a number of projects.

4. Our company relies heavily upon volunteers to support staff for our programming. When we added an online component to our programming, it seemed a natural way to attract volunteers to support that program.

5. I am webmaster for the SafePlace web site (http://www.austin-safeplace.org/), and have been reviewing the VVP's info to help me with those duties.

6. Flexibility is the primary reason. It offers people the ability to be involved even if they have disabilities, travel extensively, work odd hours, lack transportation or have other reasons they are not able to participate in traditional volunteer services.

7. The project has given me great ideas for my vvirtual volunteer project.

8. As a community network we do a fair amount of our work and matching of volunteers using the internet. I was interested in seeing how far away from the geographic place volunteers were serving we could interest volunteers in projects. I was also interested in how better to work with local county wide volunteers when using the interenet

9. Because this is the first genuinely new form of volunteering in our lifetimes and because we are still in the early days of this amazing technology.

10. Two reasons. One, I do a lot of volunteer work myself and work with many volunteer organizations, and I am generally interested in how the internet can enhance and complement volunteer efforts. Two, I currently work part-time as a community manager for a large healthcare website, and my job there consists mainly of recruiting, supporting and retaining online volunteers.

11. We use Virtual Volunteers at BCN. We could not do our work without volunteers and technology allows us to use them virtually.

12. Cyber service has given me the opportunity to volunteer. I have a full-time career that fits in the 9 to 5 timeframe. Most volunteer opportunities only want the volunteer somewhere between those same hours. Cyber service also allows me more flexibility. It allows me to volunteer when I'm available and when I'm at my best for the project. Whether that be 10am or 2am, I'm able to do it when I have the time.

13. It's the most interesting and useful development in volunteer involvement in the past 20 years. Volunteering has to mirror societal trends and the Virtual Volunteering Project is a clear foreshadowing of where society is going and where volunteer management must follow.

14. I originally became interested because we have a small office, only had 2 computers (both in use full time), and had many needs. I saw VV as a way to expand services without the barrier of physical room/supplies. My own interest in computers/internet in general added to my curiosity about how VV would work.

15. I have a project that should be easy to make work with virtual volunteers. I haven't gotten as far as I would like with it.

16. I think the project has performed very well. The idea is innovative and VV provides amazing ground work for programs exploring various means of using volunteers. I think your task is a difficult one- you are trying to change people's behavior by using the Internet. It seems easier for volunteers to understand how they can be Virtual Volunteers than for usually overtaxed volunteer programs to spend the necessary time to broaden their programs. So, like usual, the volunteers are ready before agencies.

17. Volunteering is an activity that has always and will always take place. Organisations are now getting in on the game, changing volunteerism's ethos to one of formalisation, requiring individuals to supplicate themselves to an agency in order to volunteer. It is this formalisation which I believe is the root cause of many recruitment problems today. People are just not interested in over formalised volunteering. They want something fun and enjoyable but meaningful. The Internet remains a free medium through which the informality, fun and flexibility which is the essence of volunteerism can flourish and grow. Virtual volunteering has the potential to becomne the option of choice for many potential volunteers as they seek to retain the essence of volunteerism whilst making meaningful contributions to a society that is becoming increasingly global.