Wednesday, October 22, 1975
daiiy nebraskan
'A meaningful experience
comes when the students
realize their commitment'
characterizes
volunteers
By Liz Crumley
Wanted Volunteers, to serve as counselors for criminals
on probation, to serve as a companion for an elderly per
son, to be a mend to someone small.
All of these programs need people, according to
Lincoln's two volunteer bureaus.
And these represent the "new look' of volunteerism,
according to Deb Bacon, administrative assistant to the
coordinator of the Volunteer Bureau of Lincoln.
"It used to be that volunteer work meant just correlating
a newsletter or working on a hospital aid, Bacon said.
"Now people want to get out and have volunteer exper
iences that are deep and more meaningful," she added.
More difficult
"With the economy the way it is, it's coing to be more
and more difficult for men and women to get a satisfying
joo mat pays well, she said.
"I would advocate volunteer work as a choice and alter
native for women, men and children to get experience."
Volunteers also get valuable training, she said.
"I see it as being a step in a paid career," Bacon said.
The Community Involvement Services (CIS), UNL's stu
dent volunteer bureau, also provides students with valuable
job experience, according to CIS assistant coordinator Jane
Costigan.
One such program is Voluntary Income Tax Assistance
(VITA), Costigan said. VITA provides income tax assistance
to students and low-income community members, she said.
Training begins in January and the project operates from
late January to April IS.
VITA is valuable training for business majors, she said.
Extension of education
"These people see those jobs as an extension of their
education," Costigan said.
"However, a good student volunteer experience comes
about whenever he or she realizes their commitment," she
added.
About 75 per cent of students in CIS do volunteer work
for class projects or credit, she said. These classes are
mainly in Human Development and Educational Psych
ology, she added.
"We feel we're not reaching the student who volunteers
for volunteer's sake," she said.
CIS has a bulletin board in the Nebraska Union listing
jobs available to students. Interested students can apply at
the bureau, Costigan said.
The Volunteer Bureau of Lincoln serves as a clearing
house for community services in Lincoln, Bacon said, add
ing that it operates on an intake and referral system.
An agency wanting volunteers fills out a job description
WAV
UUVI1U,
volunteers and refers them to the agency.
The interview system also is used by CIS, Costigan said.
The interview and screening is done for the benefit of
both the agency and the volunteer, according to Bacon and
Costigan.
Jobs based on interests
The jobs are filled based on interests, skills and talents of
the volunteer. The Interviews determine these interests,
Costigan said.
After the referral, the volunteer is affiliated with the
selected agency, she added.
However, both bureaus sent monthly "check-ups" which
the agencies fill out. These determine the house a volunteer
worked and ask the agency valuative for comments.
Bacon said that in 1974, volunteers from the bureau
worked more than 18,000 hours.
Questionaires work to the advantage of the volunteer,
Bacon said. The majority of comments are good, she said,
and can be used In determining future volunteer work and
on job applications.
If a volunteer quits, the agency Is asked to determine the
reason, Costigan said. '
Job dissatisfaction is the most common reason for quit
ting, she said. This can happen when the job description is
not specific enough, the added.
In one case, a volunteer sent to a nursing home for occu
pational therapy, ended up wiping tables, she said.
However, this rarely happens, she added. Suprisingly, she
said, a lack of time is infrequently given as a reason for
quitting.
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Photo by Tad Kirk
"Once a person starts a job, they usually make time for
it," Costigan said.
Bureau involves 70 jobs
About 325 students heve been involved in CIS this
semester, Costigan said. She added that the bureau works
with about 35 different agencies and 70 different jobs.
The budget for the bureau is $5,200, Mary Dean, CIS
coordinator said. Student fees provide $1,000, $4,000
comes from interest end assessment income from the Stu
dent Activities fund and about $200 is from donations.
According to Jack Guthrie, coordinator of the Center
for Students and Organizations, the assessment income
comes from a service fee that is charged to all student
organizations banking through Student Activities.
Banking through Student Activities is required for all
student organizations, he added.
This fee is one-half of one per cent on all deposits an
organization makes, he said.
The interest income comes from interest on investments
made on these deposits, which goes back into student
organizations, he said.
The Volunteer Bureau of Lincoln has 77 active agencies
and 400 active volunteers, Bacon said.
The bureau is funded completely through United Funds,
according to Bill Putnam, Executive Director of the Lincoln
Community Services office.
The 1975 budget is $19,700, which is one per cent of
the total United Funds allocations, Putnam said.
